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FLORIDA THE 

FASCINATING 



BY 
MRS. NEAL WYATT CHAPLINE 



Profusely Illustrated from Original Photos. 




BROADWAY PUBLISHING CO. 

835 BROADWAY, NEW YORK 
1914 






Copyright, 1914 

BY 

MRS. NEAL WYATT CHAPLINE 



DEC iS:9!^ 



'CI,A39312u 



FOREWORD. 



Of two things I am extremely happy — one that I 
have been given the opportunity to learn so much about 
Florida ; another, I am glad I am not a Floridian. Quite 
an ambiguous statement ? Well, if I were a native born 
the beauties of the State would not appeal to me. You 
will find that, in most cases, the natives take the glor- 
ious weather, fine sports, golden fruits and perfect 
health, all for granted and nothing of the grandeur of it 
appeals to them. 

In this land where palm trees grow and the day for 
strenuous labor is always to-morrow, the frequent visitor 
revels, finding new beauties and new interests on every 
return. 

I cannot hope to make my readers see the precise 
things that go to make up the enchantment of Florida; 
I can only describe the different places, industries, peo- 
ple and general attractions. One must see and feel for 
himself the spell of enchantment to fully understand. 

The spell of it has so filled my mind that the very 
sound of the word Florida brings a rhapsody of mingled 
music of pines, waves and breezes, a flood of flowci- 
perfume and an insistent call of peace, contentment and 
happiness that this beautiful land is the home of my 
adoption. 

The Author 
Sarasota, Fla. 
Sept. 1, 1913. 



FACINATING FLORIDA 



CHAPTER I. 

MUSIC OF THE MANATEE. 

" What is your song, mysterious river, 
In whose depths the shadows quiver— t 

Shadows of the longr agro 
That you dream of as you flow. 
Grandly sweeping' to the sea; 
What do you sing, preat Manatee? 

" The songr of life," it murmurs lovf , 

" I love the sea, to her I go." 

A NUMBER of pretty legends have been built around 
a most mysterious natural phenomenon that to this day 
is unexplained. Some of these are Indian and some 
Spanish stories. The phenomenon in question is known 
as the Mysterious Music of the Manatee, It is a musi- 
cal humming that is heard in the neighborhood of Eock 
Bluff, five or six miles above Palmetto and Bradentown, 
a sound something like the music of an seolian harp. 
Some have said that the music can only be heard at 
exactly twelve o'clock at night if one will quietly drift 
over the enchanted spot in this wonderful Manatee 
river. 

The County of Manatee is especially a favored spot. 
It contains all of the desirable features of Florida, and 
lacks entirely those objectionable ones that in some 
localities have proven fatal to the high hopes of the 
tourist and residents. 

7 



8 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

The Gulf of Mexico with the Gulf Stream and the 
winds that blow from it, have always prevented any- 
thing like a killing frost. 

The atmosphere is never humid and oppressive, there 
is always a breeze not only refreshing, but tonic. 

Morton M. Casseday in a series of booklets, has given 
exhaustive descriptions and bits of history of the Mana- 
tee section. He says, " It was only after the conclusion 
of the war of 1835 that the Indians retired and the 
white men were able to occupy the land. The first men 
who came into the county after the Indians were driven 
out where Josiah Gates and Miles Price, who in 1841 
settled, Price on the north and Gates on the south side 
of the river, A son of Mr. Gates who accompanied his 
father, being then six years old, is the Eev, E. F. Gates, 
now a venerable minister living at Manatee. These 
pioneers came from Tallahassee, as did Messrs. Eeed, 
Gillyard, Wyatt, the Braiden brothers, Pinckney Graig, 
Ledworth, Ware, McNeil, and Tresca, who all came 
during the early forties. 

These men established the town of Manatee, the name 
of an amphibious animal weighing five or six hundred 
pounds, that then abounded in these waters, but is now 
nearly extinct. 

About the same time Mr, Robert Gamble, also from 
Tallahassee, settled on the north side of the river and 
there established an enormous sugar cane plantation and 
sugar works. 

It will not do to omit from the list of early settlers 
the name of Madame Julia Atzeroth, " Madame Joe," as 
she was universally called up to the time of her death, 
comparatively a few years ago. She and her husband 
v/cro Bavarians, who came to America in 1841 and went 
South in the hope of restoring Madame Atzeroth's 



'M 



-Old Gamble Residence (Hiding Place of Jndah P. Benjamin), ^ 

Manatee River, Fla 




FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 9 

health. They went to Florida in 1843, and "home- 
steaded " a place on Terra Ceia Island, which is on the 
north side of the Manatee Kiver, separated from the 
mainland by a narrow inlet from the bay. Here the 
little family of three— they had a girl baby— lived at 
first in a tent and afterwards in a palmetto hut that they 
themselves built. This in time gave way to a log house, 
Madame Joe doing her share of the work of felling the 
trees and cutting the timber. They soon had a vegetable 
garden and sold their produce at Ft. Brooke, now 
Tampa. They had to endure many hardships and many 
difficulties, due to the primitive and unsettled conditions 
that prevailed. 

Mr. Joe engaged in the Indian war of 1855 and was 
a confederate soldier in the Civil war. He died on Terra 
Ceia Island in the 70's and in 1876 Madame Joe moved 
to Fogartyville, just below Bradentown. Here, in 1876, 
she planted some grains of Mexican coffee, and in 1880 
she sent to the Commissioner of Agriculture at Wash- 
ington the first pound of coffee ever grown in the United 
States, for which she received $10.00. 

Mr. Robert Gamble, who was among the pioneers from 
Tallahassee, had the largest plantation. It was midway 
between what are now Palmetto and Ellentown, on the 
north side of the river. At one time he had 1,400 acres 
in cane and employed several hundred slaves. He built 
a large mill, bringing the brick and machinery from the 
north in ships. The sugar was taken to Tampa, then 
Ft. Brooke, and the principal communication with the 
outside world was by means of the boats that called for 
the sugar crop. The farmers produced everything they 
used except coffee and flour, though a few of the sugar 
raisers bought corn for their stock. Generally they 
raised their own supply. As for meat, the ranges were 



10 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

filled with wild cattle and hogs, and all kinds of game 
were abundant. The rivers and other streams teemed 
with fish, as they still do, and shell fish could be picked 
up as they were wanted. Vegetables grew for the ask- 
ing and it was a time of plenty. The Indians were gen- 
erally peaceable, coming in to trade and being guilty of 
only an occasional outbreak, except in 1855, when the 
last war with the Seminoles was fought. 

The charms of the County of Manatee have been 
known to a few for years, but not until recent years, 
since the transportation facilities have developed, were 
the real beauties and possibilities realized. 

Bradentown, the county seat, is unique in one respect. 
" Bradentown is the middle one of three important 
towns that practically blend into each other, making, to 
all intents and purposes, one community. Scarcely a 
mile apart are the business centers of Bradentown and 
Manatee, and Bradentown and Palmetto. Manatee is 
south of Bradentown ; Palmetto is just across the river, 
north of Bradentown, A wagon bridge connects Mana- 
tee with Palmetto, while passenger launches ply be- 
tween Bradentown and Palmetto. It is not unusual for 
a business man to transact business in each of the three 
towns within the same hour. 

" The location of the town with respect to water sur- 
roundings is especially advantageous, and is charming 
almost beyond description. Manatee Eiver, navigable 
for twenty miles above Bradentown, is one of the world's 
most beautiful streams. Into it, just east of Braden- 
town, flows Braden river, itself a stream of no mean 
proportions and of exquisite beauty. Westward from 
Bradentown four or five miles, these united rivers flow 
into the great Gulf of Mexico. As though to add an 
extra touch of charm to the really superb location a 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 11 

firm-banked bayou juts southward from the river and 
winds gracefully through the residential section. It is 
spanned here and there by substantial bridges." 

Bradentown is the center of quite a number of points 
of interest which are attractive to visitors and homcfolks 
alike. On the north side of the river is the famous At- 
wood Grape-fruit Grove, said to be the largest grape- 
fruit grove in the world. 

Imagine, if you can, a grove of eighty rows of trees, 
each row a mile long. 

Two miles south of Bradentown, at the junction of 
Braden and Manatee Eivers, is the picturesque ruins of 
Braden Castle, which figures in tragic history during 
a battle with Indians in 1855. Five miles distant is 
Ellentown where many groves and gardens are of inter- 
est There is also the Fuller's earth industry; the ruins 
of the old Gamble mansion, and ruins of the sugar mill. 

Nature seems to have joined hands with mankind in 
a " community of interest " to bestow upon Sarasota 
everything for which even the most exacting could wish. 

In studying the early history of Sarasota one learns 
that " twenty years ago a Scotch company seeing the 
possibilities of that locality, purchased thousands of 
acres of land within the Sarasota territory, and laid 
great plans for development. The only means of access 
was through a small steamboat plying between the then 
village of Sarasota and Tampa, and under these condi- 
tions growth was almost impossible with the result that 
the first evidence of a necessity for a railroad in that 
part of the country was shown in the fact that the plans 
of the Scotch company were ' side-tracked.' 

" Time passed on until 1903, when the Seaboard com- 
pleted a railroad to Sarasota, and as a result the town 
has grown into a town of about 1,200 permanent resi- 



12 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

dents, augmented during the winter season by many 
visitors, for Sarasota is one of Florida's most charming 
winter resorts for tourists from the north and west. 

" Sarasota's location, its superb climate and the fer- 
tility of the surrounding country together with its great 
natural beauty, are agencies through which a city of 
importance is now being built. The influences which 
are now operating with this end in view will assuredly 
transform Sarasota in the very near future into a city 
of many thousand inhabitants. 

" So happy a future for this charming town is in no 
wise the idle dream nor futile hope of the people of 
that section. The real start has been made, the active 
work has been begun, and the unlimited capital enlisted 
in the upbuilding of the town of Sarasota and the entire 
territory embraced in that section, assures the pushing 
of development as rapidly as possible. 

" Mrs. Potter Palmer, with her distinguished father, 
Col. H. H. Honore, her sons, Honore Palmer and Potter 
Palmer, Jr., and her brother, Adrian C. Honore, visited 
Sarasota and was so charmed by the picturesque beauty 
delightful climate, fertility of soil and general ideal 
conditions as to cause her to make extensive purchases 
of city property in Sarasota, and to buy up pretty much 
all of the purchasable property in that section extending 
from the Manatee river southward to the Bay of Venice 
and even beyond. Her holding embraces practically the 
entire Sarasota bay district, and the work of develop- 
ment has begun. 

" This act of Mrs. Palmer was a high encomium of the 
Sarasota section. 

" As the wife of Chicago's great financier and de- 
veloper, the late Potter Palmer, she was a social leader, 
and since his death has displayed such marked ability 



Riiins of the Old Braden Castle, Manatee River, Fla. 




FASCINATING FLORIDA. 13 

in the conduct of the affairs of her vast estate as to 
evince her unnsal talent as a business woman. 

" As manager of the Woman's Department of the 
World's Fair at Chicago, Mrs. Palmer was so efficient 
as to challenge the admiration of both continents. She 
has traveled extensively, both in this country and in 
foreign lands, and in Manatee County found her ideal 
spot for her great development enterprise. 

" Having excellent judgment and abundant means to 
perfect her plans, the success of her undertaking is 
assured. 

" On the company's farm there has been planted one 
of the largest, if not the largest, celery operations in the 
state. Fifty acres are given over to it, and sixty men 
are devoting most of their attention to a crop that looks 
as if it might be a record breaker. Three hundred 
thousand feet of lumber will be used in bleaching it, 
fifteen acres at a time. 

" This is only one of the many activities of Mrs. 
Palmer in the development of the land she purchased 
which aggregates 100,000 acres. W. A. Sumner, the 
efficient director of operations on the ground, is fully 
occupied with the many perplexing problems which con- 
front the pioneer in a work of such magnitude, but he 
has found time to give earnest attention to the progress 
of Sarasota, and occupies the position of president of 
the board of trade of that town. Mrs. Palmer, her 
father and her sons, with Mrs. Benjamin Honore, her 
aunt, and her sister, Mrs. Frederick Grant, widow of 
Gen. Frederick Grant, are all residents of the com- 
munity and take an active interest in its affairs. 

" Mrs. B. L. Honore, an aunt of Mrs. Potter Palmer's, 
while visiting the old WHiitaker estate last year, was 
attracted by the possibilities in the natural scenery, and 



14 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

at once purchased seven acres, six hundred feet frontage 
on the bay, with a depth of four hundred or more, and 
built a house, modern in every respect, amid a setting 
of natural woodland growth, as beautiful as any historic 
English estate. Under Mrs. Honore's personal direction 
but little has been changed, nor is the place without a 
background of history and romance. 

" The rock bluff speaks of old days in years long past, 
when pirates and smugglers found a safe harbor in Sar- 
asota Bay, and treasures from ill-fated ships were buried 
along Florida's coast. 

" In making excavations for the house the workmen 
came upon the foundation and chimney of an old house, 
which, sixty years ago, had been built by Willliam 
Whitaker, when he brought his bride to the shores of 
the bay, and which later was burned by the Indians. 

" The Acacia, the plant of Eastern poetry and 
romance, grows here in native profusion; many speci- 
mens reaching over ten feet in height, and from the 
beauty of its ferny leaves and sweet perfume of its 
yellow balls, Mrs. Honore has named her place ' The 
Acacias.' 

" The heavy growth of hickory, oak and cabbage 
palms, has been left undisturbed ; a hedge of mountain 
laurel, might have been planted years before. A shaded 
ravine will have enough of the foliage removed for the 
planting of ferns and flowers, that will thrive with only 
a glancing sunlight. 

" An Indian mound has had the underbrush removed, 
and is heavily sodded with grass, while a playing 
fountain keeps it green. Winding walks and a beautiful 
lawn with flower beds and potted plants are in front 
of the house to tlie bay. 

" Concrete steps have been built to the dock, and a 




A beautiful Bay Walk in the Palmer Estate 
Courtesy Mrs. Porter Palrner 



FASCIXATING FLOEIDA. 15 

sea wall along the lower part of the bluff to prevent 
the washing away of the rocks; and a curbing on the 
top holds the soil for the ornamental plants. The creep- 
ing vines falling over the bluff, could easily recall to 
one's fancy Scott's beautiful description of the scenery 
amid the mountain glens of his native country. 

" In front, stretches the Bay ; across, the Keys, the 
Pass and the Gulf provide a wealth of view, with ever 
varying changes in sea and sky, that one will not grow 
weary of just watching — the waves' wild play or gentle 
ripple, the storm's black clouds, the brilliancy of the 
rainbow's colors, the rosy gleam of the opening day or 
glints of gold in the western sky, the moonlight's silvery 
radiance and the white billowy clouds in a sky of 
blue." 

" Upon a charming site overlooking beautiful Sarasota 
Bay, Mrs. Palmer has built an elegant winter residence 
and her sons have beautiful homes on either side of 
her place. 

" Mrs. Palmer has had, among other notable guests, 
her sister, Mrs. Frederick Dent Grant, wife of the late 
General Grant, and her daughter, the Princess Can- 
tacuzene of Russia. 

" Osprey-on-the-Bay, the home of Mrs. Palmer, is an 
especially charming place. To one side the gentle lap- 
ping of the waters of the Bay against the rocky beach ; 
to another, the magnificent roll of the Gulf waves over 
the glistening sand 

" At the inlet bar where the yellow sands 
Gleam bare when the tide is low. 
And the crested line of the tumbling brine 
Flings the froth like driven snow." 



16 FASCINATING FLOHIDA. 

Mrs. Palmer's beauty-loving eyes can feast on many an 
exquisite picture as the sun, the golden orb of day, 
slowly sinks to rest in the ocean bed. Then " The zenith 
spreads its canopy of sapphire and the west has a 
magnificent array of clouds, and as the breeze plays on 
them they assume the forms of mountains, castled cliffs 
and hills and shadowy glens, and groves and beetling 
rocks, and some in golden masses float, and others have 
edges of burning crimson. 

" There can surely be no more wonderful garden of 
tropical plants anywhere in the land. Everything has 
been planted and. arranged under the personal direction 
of the owner. And her knowledge of botany and floricul- 
ture is as thorough as her knowledge of other subjects. 

" Nature has been allowed to have her own way largely 
in this garden of bloom, but in the arrangement of the 
walks and drives, the planting of ravines and the open- 
ing of vistas at unexpected points such cunning art has 
been employed as to make a visit here a succession of 
delights." 

Across a low, marshy morass, Mrs. Palmer has had 
built an artistic little foot bridge, not in the regulation 
" straight across " style, but in a winding losing direc- 
tion. The setting of this bridge alone, of all her artistic 
touches, gives one an insight to the extreme love of 
Nature's beauties that exists in her soul. 

Just a few branches of the trees have been removed 
as would make it possible for the workman to wield their 
tools, not a fern, bluet, daisy, golden rod, or any of the 
woodsy growths was disturbed; the wood's creatures 
after the first few days of hiding and fright at the 
unaccustomed noise of saw and hammer, soon saw there 
was nothing to fear from this winding walk ; no doubt 
they feel confident that it was built for their special 



''. ■ ?•• 




A View of Mrs. Porter Palmer's Wonderful Gardens 
Courtesy Mrs. Palmer 



p>i 



FASCmATING FLORIDA. 17 

use when they go wing-to-wing in bird lover promenades 
or the squirrels feel the need of an extra run. 

When walking through this part of the estate, where 
the cries of herons, loons and mud-hens are heard with 
strange distinctness, one feels as if she had invaded the 
inmost recesses of the Limberlost, so dear to the heart 
of Freckles. 

Overhead, the limbs of trees and vines make a green 
canopy, with here and there a patch of sunlight glinting 
through. An all-pervading sweetness and cool seclusion 
takes the rushed tiredness out of the city-bred body and 
makes that one feel nearer to the Creator of all things 
beautiful. 

The trend of the tourist is southward and this part 
of the southland must be desirable, when Mrs. Palmer, 
who is so well acquainted with the most acceptable 
places in the world, selects it as a place to make a home. 

There is no more beautiful spot on the coast than 
Indian Beach, halfway between Sarasota and Braden- 
town, which doubtless takes its name from the numerous 
Indian mounds in the neighborhood. There is a long 
wide reach of white sand that extends far down the 
bay in a very gradual and graceful curve. Above the 
sand the land undulates in an unusual way for this 
country, and is covered by a good turf that extends to 
the beach. The shore is heavily wooded with cabbage 
palmetto, oaks, some date palms, hickory and pines. 
Patches of waving bananas and occasional clumps of 
scrub-palmetto give character to the scene. The water 
is of an exquisite blue and as quiet as the surface of a 
lake, being just gently rippled by the breeze that is 
blowing in from the Gulf through the pass and across 
the palmetto-bedecked Long Boat Key, Just opposite. 

SiOveral notable people have homes at Indian Beach — ■ 



18 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

the Ringling Bros., owners of the world-famed circus, 
and their manager, C. N. Thompson, have magnificent 
homes there. 

Another beautiful place is The Palms. The lawn is 
covered with beautiful turf on which great, majestic 
live-oaks grow. The palm grove is a curiosity, so great 
a variety of palms and palmetto trees does it contain, 
including the beautiful " sacred palm," the branches of 
which are used in the churches on Palm Sunday. Here, 
too, are many date palms, heavy with fruit. The roses 
bloom all the year around, but in greatest profusion 
during the winter months. A great Indian mound 
crowned with cedars, rises just at the edge of the beach, 
and is said to be the burial place not only of Indians, 
but of Spaniards as well. 

Hundreds of birds flit about the cedars, and the 
oleander bushes, filling the air with the music of mock- 
ing-birds, wrens, doves, catbirds, robins, blackbirds, rice 
birds, blue jays and other kinds peculiar to the locality. 
The cabbage palmetto bears a berry that the birds feed 
on, and here at Indian Beach they find every condition 
a bird could ask for. 

There is no more characteristic scenery in Florida 
than in and around Sarasota. Strangers are welcome 
and made to feel at home, by the hospitable people in 
the little city, the beauties and possibilities of the charm- 
ing place are eagerly pointed out. 

From my note book, in which I write numberless 
descriptions of little " at home " journeys my family and 
I take, I will copy a few descriptions. 

This beautiful morning reminds me of an expression 
in the book I am reading "By Sunlit Waters" a story 
of Tampa, by Thomas Shackleford and William DeHart. 




Episcopal Mission at Immokalee 
Rev. W. J. Godden in charge 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 19 

" Imagine, if you can, an almost perfect succession of 
June days, cloudless skies of deepest azure, orange trees 
in bloom, making the air redolent with the delicious 
odors; moonlit nights so beautiful as to make one loath 
to go to sleep, and filled with the trills and staccatos and 
cadenzas of the tireless mocking birds." 

As we took a delightful morning ride, we passed an 
orange grove not in delicious bloom, but filled with 
fruit of gold, hedged with whispering myrtle, yellow 
jasmine and cherokee roses. Where else can one find 
a more delightful combination? To one side a gourd 
was climbing in frenzied efforts to imitate the more 
loved vines. As I looked at the clear sky without a 
fleck of cloud, felt the almost too warm sunshine, drank 
in the balmy air and heard the carol of birds, it was 
hard to realize that it was winter time — that time of 
year in which the bleaker countries, heralds the big back 
log, closed houses and heavy wraps. It seems that more 
and more I am prompted by something within to write — 
write — write — and every thought seems weighted with 
the aroma of orange blossoms, wild violets, jasmine and 
cherokee roses, every sentence breathing the delicious 
balminess of the atmosphere. 

Am indebted to "The Maid-At-Arms " for voicing 
my feeling so beautifully in the following: "The 
Maker of all things has set in me a love for whatsoever 
He has fashioned in His handiwork, whether it be furry 
beast or pretty bird, or a spray of April willow, or the 
tiny insect-creature that pursues its dumb blind way 
through this our common world. So come I by my 
love for the voices of the night and the eyes of the 
stars, and tlie whisper of growing things, and the spice 
in the air, where, unseen, a million tiny blossoms hold 



so FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

up white cups for dew, or for the misty-winged things 
that woo them for their honey." 

It seems as we pass this orange grove that I feel an 
almost irresistible desire to go in and pick up some of 
the golden fruit that the fitful winds had pulled and 
thrown away. Then I would like to throw myself down 
under the tree with a canopy of blue and white and 
green, couch myself deep in the velvety grass, pillow my 
head on the softness of Mother Earth freshly turned 
and be lulled to restfulness by the soft rustle in the 
trees while the gentle zephyrs waft from over the hedge 
of Cherokee roses and jasmine a whisper of peace. 

Coming in to-day from a walking trip which had 
carried us out to the old packing house at Fruitville, 
as we turned the corner to walk down main street it 
seemed as if indeed we were entering fairy land. On 
one hand was the hedge of cherokee roses and yellow 
jasmine, the old tumbled-down house, a house for bats, 
spiders and bugs, the grove of young pines and the 
orange grove in the distance. On the other hand the 
smooth golf course with its interesting and artistic 
clump of pines, the largest pine trees to be found in 
Sarasota. 

Back of us everything seemed dark and gloomy, but 
down the street it seemed that we were indeed seeing 
through a glass darkly into the most glorious Beyond, 
for just before us the King of day in his resplendent 
robes, was holding high carnival with the denizens of 
the deep. Just on the edge of the skyline and seem- 
ingly into the water, until one could hardly distinguish 
the real beauty from the reflected beauty, and as we 
looked the exalted Ruler sank to sleep and the tiny stars 
crept out one by one as if afraid to disturb his slumbers. 

The glamour of Florida sunshine, the perfume of 




The Fisherman's Paradise 

Shark 9 ft. caught by two of the g-entlemen in picture; 

the fish also from Sarasota Bay 



FASCINATING FLOEIDxV. 21 

flowers and all the spells that the magical climate 
weaves over one have had their influence over me and 
I love it. 

Other distinctive and attractive features are the 
Keys, a line of which stretches for many miles, as 
though guarding the coast with frequent passes into 
the Gulf. In the passes and in Sarasota Bay itself, 
tarpon is more abundant than anywhere else on the 
coast. 

The kingfish, too, which the sportsman regards next 
to the tarpon, abounds here. They weigh fifty pounds 
and over. The finest Spanish mackerel in the South, 
the finest pompano, mullet, sea trout, red snapper, red- 
fish, jackfish, groupers, flounders and sheepshead are 
caught here. Some fifty men, employed by Tampa 
houses, are regularly engaged in the fishing industry 
in these waters. Fish are abundant all along the coast 
and in the Manatee Eiver, but Sarasota Bay is the fish- 
erman's paradise. 

Not only is the fishing good in the salt water, but in 
the fresh water streams, where black bass, blue braem, 
perch and channel cat are caught in great numbers. 

The shooting is as good as the fishing. Quail are 
very abundant, and so are doves, which are shot from 
October till January. In the season many varieties of 
ducks are found including teal, mallards and canvas- 
backs. The latter, which are found in great numbers, 
are as fine as those of Chesapeake and Delaware rivers. 
Snipe, plover and other shore birds are plentiful in the 
fall, winter and spring. Squirrel, rabbits and rice- 
birds always may be relied on to fill up a bag. Fifteen 
or twenty miles inland there are still turkeys and deer. 

Winter sports amid more glorious surroundings it 
would be hard to find. Sarasota is at all times a '' happy 



22 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

haven " for the stranger and to those, who like myself, 
have adopted Sarasota as a home the fond attachment 
to the ideal place, will " maintain its hold with such 
unfailing sway," we will feel it e'en in age, and at our 
latest day. 



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"A Specimen of the old wild cattle of the Sea"— a Manatee 



FASCINATHsTG FLORIDA. 23 



CHAPTER II. 

THE GATEWAY TO PANAMA. 

The proud title, " The Gateway to Panama " is given 
to Tampa, from the fact that Tampa is shorter by water 
and by rail than any other port between the seat of 
Government and the zone. It stands to reason that the 
Government will select Tampa as the connecting link 
between the two places. 

Tampa is very old in history, yet very young in des- 
tiny. She looks back on a past that stretches nearly 
four hundred years into the now dim and misty path- 
ways of civilization. Where once rocked the galleons of 
the intrepid Spanish explorers now anchor the mighty 
leviathan burden bearers of all the seas. 

May 35th, 1539, Hernando De Soto, discovered this 
land of Tampa — a name given to it by the Indians, and 
is interpreted " Split Wood for Quick Fires." The 
explorers embarked at Green Springs, at the head of 
Old Tampa Bay. Up to the eighteenth century Tampa 
figures only in history. In \S25 the Government estab- 
lished Fort Brooke, a military reservation, at the head 
of what is now Franklin Street, and on which stands 
still the officers' quarters, known as the Carew home- 
stead, nestling amidst the great moss-hung live-oaks. 

The fort was named after Gen. George Marshall 
Brooke, a Virginian by birth and a gallant soldier. The 
ceremony known as the " change of flags," in which the 



24 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

Spanish Government turned over the territory of Flor- 
ida to the United States, took place at St. Augustine on 
July 16th, 1821, and at Pensacola on July 21st, of the 
same year. Fort Brooke was established four years 
after this time as a protection against the ravages of 
Indians. For more than ten years, during the Indian 
wars, which extended over a period of time from 1835 
to 1845, Fort Brooke was probably the most important 
Government reservation and mobilizing point in the 
State. It was from here that Major Dade's ill-fated 
expedition started to Fort King, near Ocala, as their 
objective point, only to be massacred almost to the 
man in the Wahoo swamp, near the Withlacoochee river, 
on December 38th, 1835, the only one whom it is known 
escaped being Eawson Clark, who concealed himself in 
the palmetto scrub and made his .way to Tampa, and 
tlie news was given to the world. In the following year 
Gen. Winfield Scott, later hero of the Mexican War, 
took charge of the Indian wars in Florida. 

The name of Fort Brooke and Tampa are associated 
with the names of King Philip and his cunning and 
warlike son, Coacoochee. 

Gen. Zachary Taylor, who was afterwards President 
of the United States, was stationed at Tampa in Decem- 
ber, 1837. 

The Indians kept up their predatory warfare until 
finally General Worth was placed in command of 5,000 
men with orders to carry on a campaign which would 
result either in the surrender or extermination of the 
enemy. In June, 1838, Coacoochee and many of his 
companions were captured and brought back to Tampa, 
and in a short time after this the Indian wars were 
ended, the Indians expressing their willingness to sub' 
mit to the desires of the whites. 



'\ 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 25 

In 1847 the United States Government gave forty- 
acres of land as a townsite to Hillsboro County and 
this marked the beginning of the city of Tampa. An 
old cannon set up in the ground at the southwest cor- 
ner of Franklin and Whiting streets and which could 
be seen until within the last fifteen years, was set to 
mark the boundary between the Government reservation 
and the city. 

During the Civil War the Confederate flag floated 
from the flagstaff of the Garrison, until it was again 
occupied by a Union force. Troops were stationed 
there as late as 1882, their numbers, however, being 
small, when in that year the two remaining companies 
were sent to Key West. 

The veterans' camping ground took on a military 
aspect again in 1898 when a great many of the crack 
companies of the nation camped there on their way 
to Cuba, and the measured cadences of the reveille 
floated across the listening bay in silvery notes as in 
days gone by. After the Cuban war Tampa began to 
realize itself, and has grown rapidly ever since. 

The Tampa spirit is a spirit marked by aggressive- 
ness for the common good; by a sinking of personal 
consideration in promoting broader interest of the com- 
munity; by an insistent and continuous demand for 
nothing short of the best intellectually and materially. 
Thanks to the Tampa spirit of the pioneers the city was 
founded upon ideals. It has never lost sight of them. 
They have always been the constant guide of civic prog- 
ress. It is that spirit which welcomes every newcomer 
with true Southern hospitality; which tells him there 
is room for all in this city of accomplishments, and 
supplements the statement by acts of helpfulness and 
neighborliness ; which continually places public good 



26 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

above private gain and reckons the performance of the 
duties of citizenship the greatest privilege. This is 
what has made Tampa great ; so great that no one can 
even imagine what the next 25 years will show. 

One of the most interesting show places of Tampa is 
that magnificent hostelry owned by the city, known as 
the Tampa Bay Hotel, the Moorish Palace of the South. 

One who has sojourned in this beautiful place carries 
away a mental picture of the natural setting of the 
Tampa Bay Hotel. The most beautiful of all orchards, 
where the tropic fruits are flowering and ripening in 
the sunlight, form but one of the walks. Turn aside 
and long vistas of palm-decked groves and graceful, 
rustling thickets of bamboo attract you to further ex- 
ploration. The famous Palmetto walk, an exquisite 
shaded walk by a quiet river, has all the marvels of 
the tropic vegetation assembled to form its border, while 
grotesque shrubs and trees from Japan, and exotics 
from South America lend an added charm. 

It was a daring conception which raised the stately 
facade of the Tampa Bay Hotel with its wealth of arch 
and pinnacle, but one which enlists increasing praise 
with each succeeding year. The architect has caught 
and realized the best spirit of the Moorish palaces. The 
grouping of scores of airy arches, the delicate tracery 
of carved wood, renders every detail of the great build- 
ing a delight to the appreciative and sympathetic eye. 
Nowhere, it is safe to say, has the charm of Granada 
been reproduced on so lavish a scale, or with so com- 
plete a triumph. On one's first approach you feel that 
here the old problem of a suitable, harmonious archi- 
tecture for a great modem hotel has been completely 
satisfied. 

Tampa, " The Gateway to Panama," is a radiant 



Winlcringand Camping 
in Florida. 




FASCINATING FLORIDA. 27 

jewel, ensconced in a setting of opaline waters, vibrant 
with a song of Destiny. 

Tampa stands outdoors. Sunshine floods its streets; 
breezes bathe its homes, clean and sweet and invigorat- 
ing, from a thousand miles of forest, from endless 
leagues of tossing water. 

Approaching by land or sea, Tampa looks inviting, 
inspiring confidence of a welcome by her people. Here 
Nature seems to rest in raptured contemplation of her 
own rich and varied charms. Here, in kindest mood, 
reposeful in her fairest state, she meditates upon a 
scene. 

" Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky 
In color tho' varied, in beauty may vie. 
And the purple of ocean is deepest in dye." 

Within this hospital zone, that royal daughter of the 
Gulf, Tampa Bay, entwines in fond embrace her arms 
about the enamored land and from this happy union is 
born the multitudinous beauties of shore and sea. In 
endless panorama of delightful forms the shoreline 
stretches its enchanting prospect and upon this choicest 
spot of a most choice location the city of Tampa is ris- 
ing — building efficiently, wisely. 

Tampa beckons the world. Its unique charms bid 
the tourist stay; her commercialism enthralls the pros- 
pector; her spirit of doing things is an inspiration. 
Cooled by the Gulf breezes, Tampa laughs at the lan- 
guor of the plains and pities the distress of cities gasp- 
ing with heat. Warmed by the Gulf breezes, Tampa 
laughs at winter's grasp and pities the shivering millions. 
Life in Tampa is an event; and adventure is happiness 
and health. 



28 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

In no other city in America is the old Spanish 
atmosphere so much in evidence as in quaint Ybor City, 
and for the visitor this is not the least of the charms of 
Tampa. Ybi^r City is shown to the visitor as " Little 
Havana." Among the relics of the past is a magnifi- 
cent old oak, beneath which, says tradition, De Soto 
camped on first landing on these shores. Relics of the 
ancient wall, which once served as a fortified shelter, 
may still be traced, now vine-clad and fast crumbling 
to decay. 

However troublesome a part the Cheroot may have 
played in the love of Kipling's Bachelor, certain it is 
that the " great god Nicotine " has smiled upon the 
city of Tampa. In a comparatively few years the estab- 
lishment and growth of the city industry of Tampa 
have transformed a stretch of sandy beach into a thriv- 
ing city of 50,000 people, known as the leading clear 
Havana cigar manufacturing center of the world. 

Tampa cigars are a strictly " hand made " product, 
no machines being employed either in cutting or rolling 
the weed. A visit to a large factory is always scheduled 
by tourists, and a hospitable reception is always assured. 
There are always many interesting points to be gathered 
from such a visit. Above the busy clatter of knives 
as the tabaqueros cut the leaf, rises the chatter of con- 
versation, or it may be that a reader is holding forth 
from his platform, reading in a stentorian voice the 
news of the day or perhaps a popular novel in Spanish. 
In another room the pickers — highly trained men — may 
be seen at the apparently simple, but really very com- 
plex, task of assorting colors. Then there are the pack- 
ers, passing on the cigars with critical eye before they 
are finally nailed up and sent to the stock room. Last, 
but not least, there are the " anilladores " or banders — 




One of the Magnificent Views 
of Mrs. Porter Palmer's E^state 
Courtesy Mrs. Palmer 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 29 

pretty Cuban girls with jet black eyes and an abund- 
ance of hair ribbon. 

THE BLENDING OF TOBACCO. 

The matter of blending the tobacco is perhaps that of 
greatest importance in the manufacture of cigars. 
Knowledge of blending may be said to be the epitome 
of the manufacturers' experience in the industry. On 
his particular " blend " he bases the reputation of his 
house ; it may have been " hit upon " by himself or it 
may have been devolved upon him with the factory 
from his father. Certain it is that it is usually a jeal- 
ously guarded trade secret and it also represents the 
personality of the house. Many a factory, after chang- 
ing hands, has lost prestige with its brands because the 
subtle touch of the former manufacturer was lost in 
its " blend." 

Some seven or eight years ago Tampa experienced a 
renaissance in the method of building cigar factories. 
Since that time the manufacturers have vied with each 
other in constructing handsome factories. There being 
no grimy machinery, no dump heaps, or other of the 
appurtenances that usually mark a manufacturing plant, 
and the industry lending itself well to neat surround- 
ings, the buildings are surrounded in most cases, by 
well-kept grounds, with handsome lawns and beautiful 
foliage. Many of the buildings are architectural master- 
pieces, built with Grecian columns, or in a medieval 
style, according to the taste of the owner. 

Tampa is easily reached by the people living in 
smaller towns, and often a real treat is offered in the 
way of musical entertainments of high excellence. The 
trip from Sarasota to Tampa is said to be tiresome; 



30 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

well, it isn't as if one were traveling in a palace pull- 
man as yet, but there are so many compensations, — as 
you will find from a trip I took last February, which I 
give from my notebook. 

Imagine, you poor deluded people, who think of Flor- 
ida as a deserted, wild uncared for country, while you 
sit huddled over your fires or wrapped in your furs, while 
you take your exercise — imagine, I say, a country of 
beautiful growing vegetables, flowers and fruits, sun- 
shine and cool breezes, making summer time of winter. 
This is February. To-day I am going on a little trip 
from " Sarasota, the Beautiful " to " Tampa, the Busy " 
and am going to write of things I see just as they come 
to my eye. 

Go into your hothouse and look at your most treasured 
palms and ferns ; now imagine them in quadruple quan- 
tities growing in beautiful abundance everywhere, then 
you will see, in mind, the picture that greets my eye as 
I look from my car window. Except in my real picture, 
you can see also a sentinel pine with its bed of brown 
beneath and its crown of green above ; as far as I can 
see, palmettoes holding aloft their pointed spears; here 
a yellow jasmine climbing in rich confusion over a 
fence ; here a peach tree in full bloom. A little further 
on I see an orange grove, the trees a rich green and 
the golden fruit hanging on every limb. 

Now, we are opposite a field of celery, some fresh 
young plants, and some in rows that are large enough 
for the bleaching process which is interesting. Did 
you ever see a field of celery undergoing the bleaching 
process? Well, after they have grown to a certain 
height the green stalks are closely boxed on each side 
until only the bushy tops can be seen, then the extreme 
heat and shuttinj!: out the sunlight and air causes the 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 31 

stalks to turn that beautiful crisp white that every one 
enjoys so much. 

Over in a corner of the fence I catch a glimpse of a 
wild blackberry vine in full bloom, — that passes, and 
I see a clump of bananas growing; they appeal to me 
especially with their long, waving graceful leaves, some 
have been split and torn by the wind whipping them 
about until they remind me of " worn and tattered 
war banners, waving alike over the conqueror and the 
conquered " — their bloom is a very unusual and pecu- 
liar one, a long, pointed one, and, as the bloom drops 
its petals the young bananas come. Sometimes there 
will be quite a bunch of green bananas up high and 
tapering down to a rich purple bloom tip. 

Now, we come to that beautiful stream of water, 
Manatee River, on one edge I see a boat, anchored by 
an oyster bed, and a boat man diligently opening these 
delicious bivalves. On one side of this water there is 
the beautiful little city of Palmetto, and on the other, 
within sight, is the equally beautiful town of Manatee. 
They are connected by a long bridge. 

Just over this river, now, and we stop for some cause, 
right by a field of lettuce, and those crisp, curly leaves, 
just seem inviting one to use them for garnishing a 
dish of salad. 

Oil, this beautiful sight that I see now ! A large, 
spreading water oak, Spanish moss hanging from each 
limb, and as the sun is slowly sinking, it casts shimmer- 
ing shadows on the white sands below. 

Here is a patch of that homely vegetable cabbage ; 
this would be a fine location for that inimitable Mrs. 
Wiggs. Right by its side are acres and acres of lettuce 
and numberless negroes with crates, preparing this 
lettuce for the market. 



32 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

It seems rather odd to jump from vegetables to 
flowers, but am faithfully writing, as I said, of things 
just as they come within sight, and it happens to be 
next, a hedge of cherokee roses. Although the car win- 
dow is closed, I imagine I smell their sweet elusive, 
spicy odor. 

We have stopped again and the only thing within 
sight is a bunch of long-horned cows quietly grazing, 
but wait — ^yes, as I lean closer and look, I see a small 
ditch one side of whicli is covered with blackberry vines 
in bloom, just below there are fronds of exquisite ferns 
and lower still, modestly hidden in the grass dainty 
little white and blue violets. 

Now comes a pond from which the noise of the train 
frightens a number of kildees and perhaps snipe, as 
we passed too quickly for me to recognize my feathered 
friends. 

Now we are opposite a turpentine grove. In each 
pine is cut a cup-shaped place into which the juices 
run and wliich in turn is carried into camp where by 
some process it is turned into turpentine. 

Before my vision now passes a dead pine tree, a 
ghost unlike its former self in days of its green full- 
ness and beauty. 

So this ends my reverie with flitting nature scenes, 
for we are within sight of Tampa where there is bustle 
and hurry on every side; the lights glitter, the train 
creaks, stops, and the porters and cabmen call in their 
eagerness to get a passenger. My mind is filled with 
the tlioughts of the play I am to see to-night, the sup- 
per afterwards, and all the interesting diversions Tampa 
offers, before I return with renewed energy to my 
home pleasures and duty in Sarasota. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 33 

Last year at Tarpon Springs, twenty-five miles from 
Tampa, some wise men from the east, here on a pros- 
pecting tour, looked upon some sand that others had 
poked fun at. Instead of taking a pocketful of that 
sand home with them to show the fellows the kind of 
soil they had in Florida, they took a barrel of it to a 
chemist and when it was assayed at 99.34 per cent pure 
silica they came back and quietly bought up all of the 
land they could get — and they got it for a song. The 
company has some ten or a hundred million tons of 
this silica, and it is worth $5 a ton. This sand is as 
valuable as phosphate, and we look for millions to be 
invested in this section in the manufacture of plate 
glass, lenses, etc., as well as pottery. 

Florida is rich in its resources — new resources are 
being discovered each year, and those who pin their 
faith to this favored land are richly rewarded. 

For a little city the size of Tarpon Springs to be the 
greatest producing and marketing center of the world 
for a commodity so universally used as sponges, is a 
distinction none can excel and few can equal. And this 
industry has made of Tarpon Springs a center of trade 
whose importance is as great in proportion to its size 
as London or New York. 

Coupling this great commercial advantage with the 
natural beauty of the location and the medicinal prop- 
erties of the springs which gives the place its name, the 
explanation of the wonderful health and wealth of 
Tarpon Springs is given. The springs and the delight- 
ful climate have drawn here for their winters some of 
the wealthiest people of the country, whose beautiful 
winter villas and estates give Tarpon Springs an air 
that can not be found duplicated anywhere in a town 
of its size. 



34 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

Being a value creative industry, the sponge fishing 
places in Tarpon Springs the total cash value of the 
entire output of the fisheries, amounts to approxi- 
mately a million dollars each year. There are twenty- 
five sponge packing houses employing two hundred or 
more men. The sponges are sold at auction on the 
Sponge Exchange, buyers being on hand at every sale 
to bid for the product as put up by the auctioneer. 
About 200 vessels are engaged in the sponge trade, 
three-fourths of them being power boats and the re- 
mainder sailing vessels. Nearly 2,000 men are emplo3^ed 
in the various branches of the industry, most of these 
being Greeks. Their pay is large and they spend the 
greater portion of it in Tarpon Springs, causing the 
commercial life of the town to be practically independ- 
ent of outside financial flurries of .stringencies, 

That this industry is destined to become even greater 
than at present is shown by experiments of the Fed- 
eral Government in growing a greater supply, the adop- 
tion of laws providing heavy penalty for taking young 
or half-grown sponges, and limiting the season of 
sponge gathering, as well as experiments looking 
towards a more varied use of the product. These manu- 
facturing experiments embrace the making of pillows 
and mattresses from the sponge, these being about one- 
third as heavy as feathers and decidedly more sanitary. 
Other articles are toy balls which are as light as a 
pneumatic ball, and sponge cushions. 

The magnitude of this industry shows conclusively 
that Tarpon Springs cannot go backward in develop- 
ment or growth. 

Thirty-four miles from Tampa, on the northern half 
of Anna Maria Key, is Anna Maria Beach, fast becom- 
ing known as a pleasure resort. 




Firing- 12 inch gun, Fort Pickens 
Entrance Pensacola Harbor, 
Courtesy Pensacola ComirierQial Ass'n. 



FASCINATIXG FLORIDA. 35 

Its natural beauty was so striking that Fernando De 
Soto, the famous Spanish discoverer, who discovered 
Tampa Bay, named it in honor of his beautiful sister, 
Donna Anna Maria. 

Fort De Soto, one of the forts protecting the entrance 
to Tampa Bay, was named in honor of the famous dis- 
coverer. 

The United States Government has reserved and 
erected forts on Mullet and Egmont Keys, it has also 
reserved Passage Key, a rookery on which myriads of 
sea birds rear their young. 

It is certainly to the credit of Florida people that 
they have kept up the different historic spots of the 
State. Ft. Thompson Park, one of the grandest estates 
of the South is near the historic old Fort Thompson 
on the Caloosahatchee. With its fine drives through 
tropical hammocks; grand old oaks covered with Span- 
ish moss; stately palm trees glistening in the sunlight; 
beautiful stretches of green meadows, soft southern 
breezes, and a quiet restfulness over all makes it a place 
eagerly sought by the travel-stained tourist and busi- 
ness man of the outside world. 

The property around this spot lay idle and fallow 
for many years until E. E. Goodno came up the river 
and took it over because of its potentialities. Mr. 
Goodno is a man of great energy and although his com- 
ing to Florida was, in a manner, an accident, he has 
made good his plans, and Fort Thompson Park and 
surroundings are a testimony of his farsightedness. 

Seventeen years ago Mrs. Goodno was driven to 
Florida by her northern physicians. They told her she 
had only a few weeks to live but that there would be 
less suffering for her if she came to Florida and selected 
some pleasant spot in the southern part of the State. 



36 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

The seventeen years have passed pleasantly for the aged 
woman who is still hale and hearty at the age of eighty- 
eight. During that period she has had only four days 
of illness severe enough to keep her in bed, and she does 
much of her own housekeeping in the pleasant home 
her son has established for her in Fort Thompson Park. 

To-day, while Mrs. Goodno is alive, well and taking 
the most active interest in the success of her son, she 
knows of the death of those who long ago told her she 
was ready for the end. Even some of the physicians 
who so wisely gave her up to return to the clay from 
which she came have passed to their final rest, but the 
one they thought would precede them still lives, and, 
moreover, she enjoys every day of it in this delightfully 
tempered clime. 

From many standpoints this little sketch will be of 
interest. Not alone from the viewpoint of those who 
will rejoice with the aged mother, even though they do 
not know her, but from the viewpoint of those who have 
hesitated to come to Florida because someone has told 
them the State is low and cannot be a healthful place 
in which to live. 

There are so many places throughout the State of 
especial interest to the traveler that I feel a desire to 
portray every one. In every place are found public- 
spirited citizens in many walks of life whose only inter- 
est is in the development of the community in which 
they live, and are eager to pass on their knowledge of 
the attractivness of the State at large. The many 
beautiful booklets issued by the different Boards of 
Trade and Business Leagues, collected and treasured, 
would prove a valuable mine of information for the 
student of this fair State. 

The Business League of Deland have issued a charm- 



FASCIXATIXG FLORIDA. 37 

ing brochure in which some of the beautiful shaded 
streets and driveways are shown. Deland, the Athens 
of Florida, is a city of beautiful homes and shaded 
avenues. 

One of the greatest things that can be said of Deland 
in connection with the activities of the world is the 
great educational institution as represented by the John 
B. Stetson University, founded about twenty years ago. 

Seven miles from Deland is found DeLeon Springs, 
another picturesque spot, the many of the kind one 
finds in Florida. 

The name Winter Park was given to a section of 
country in Orange County, by Oliver C. Chapman and 
Loring A. Chase, of Chicago. A history of this section 
for years previous to their coming would be of extreme 
interest, could it be written. It would tell of its occu- 
pation by the Seminole Indians, of Osceola their wonder- 
ful chief, and the choice of his camping- ground, with 
his own teepee on the bank of Lake Maitland, at a spot 
now occupied by '• Alabama," Mr. W. C. Temple's beau- 
tiful residence. Their totems still remain on some of 
the trees in this vicinity, one especially on a cypress 
tree on the grounds of Mr. C. H. Morse, near Lake 
Osceola. 

The town was laid out in 1881, so that its history and 
growth are all within the past twenty-eight years. 

A point of interest there is the fine campus grounds 
surrounding Rollins College on Lake Virginia. 
" Life is Life at Winter Park " 

Balmy breezes. Sunshine Golden, 
Leafy Shades, with Shadows Dark, 

Stately Live Oaks, Mossy, Olden, 
Whispering Pines of Winter Park. 



38 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

Giant Cypress, Tall, Commanding 
Indians' Hammocks bound'ry Mark, 

Glist'ning Lakes, with Fish abounding. 
Guard and Smile at Winter Park. 

In this Land of Fruit and Flowers, 
Everywhere the Song Bird, Hark. 

Happy, Eestful, Dreamy Hours 
Swiftly Glide at Winter Park. 

Come, then, you from Icy Northland, 
Leave your Winter, Cold and Stark, 

Bask in Eippling, Glowing Sunshine, 
Life is Life at Winter Park. 

Anon. 




Hundreds of Stalwart Pine Trunks" 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 39 



CHAPTEE HI. 

NATIVES AT WORK AND PLAY. 

" I'll come out, hitch my automobile on, and grind 
that cane for you in a little while." 

" No sir, thank you, we would get through too 
quick," answered the Floridian. 

That is one of the features of cane grinding. The 
natives make a picnic of it. The freshly ground juice, 
after it is strained, makes a delightful drink, and we 
pity the children whom we remember seeing working 
60 hard to get the cane, bought from the store, cut 
and peeled ready for the few delicious " sucks " they can 
get. 

The sugar cane is one of the oldest farm crops in 
this State of which we have any record. It dates from 
the earliest settlement of the country on the East coast. 
The Jesuit Fathers imported the seed cane from the 
West Indies, where it had been extensivly grown as 
early as the year 1518. It was first brought over by 
Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, but the methods 
of growing the crops and the extraction of the juice 
for syrup making have not been much improved upon 
by the general farmer in all the years since. It is an 
interesting industry and no doubt an enjoyable one in 
all its phases of planting, stripping, cutting, grinding, 
straining, evaporating, sealing and selling, for Florida 



40 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

syrup is one of the delights of the State and much in 
demand. 

Someone asks what " stripping " means. About a 
month before the cane is to be ground all the leaves are 
removed so as to admit sunlight to the stalks which 
helps to sweeten the juice. The expression " topping " 
makes one consider in what connection such an opera- 
tion could be used as regards sugar cane growing. Then 
one is told that in preparation for harvesting the first 
consideration is the " topping," — i. e., cutting off the 
immature tops of cane as immature canes make inferior 
syrup. Remarkable to think how many important steps 
there are in making the syrup. 

A great diversion of the natives inland is fishing in 
the many little creeks and streams which abound in 
fish. A drummer came into the office one day while I 
was in and said, " What do you think ! To-day while 
driving from one little town to another I saw two 
cracker women, barefooted, sitting on the banks of a 
little stream, fishing. They had on big straw hats and 
were smoking cob pipes ! " They take an old tomato 
can or bucket of some kind and catch the little frogs 
that hop in and out of the water, impale the soft, squirm- 
ing things on their hooks, and smoking contentedly 
they fish and fish — and fish. Others, who live near the 
salt water, and oftentimes tourists, can be seen in 
crowds standing on the docks and fishing for salt water 
beauties. So on and on one could recount the pleasure 
and pastimes of the Florida people. 

One especially interesting pleasure is an oyster roast. 
Mrs. Palmer has undoubtedly foimd it so for a few 
fortunate ones were invited to her home during the 
holidays for an " Oyster roast." 

From my note-book I give herewith an account of an 



FASCIXATING FLOEIDA. 41 

outing which came near having a tragic ending — " The 
Enchanted Automohile " — 

The neat trim little Ford standing so patiently by, 
while the picnic baskets were being packed inside, gave 
to the happy four, off for a day's recreation, no inkling 
of its latent magical powers. 

All went well, — except the Speedwell, containing the 
other six, found some difficulty in dodging the trees 
and making the quick turns in the sandy snake-like 
roads and keeping in sight of the little Ford, 

Within two hours' time they had covered the eighteen 
miles and while the men of the party with rods, reels 
and rifles went to try their skill for fish and squirrel, 
the girls soon had the coffee, ham, eggs and toast cooked 
and spread under the mist-wrapped trees. When the 
men returned all enjoyed the breakfast at the regulation 
time, but under decidedly different surroundings. 

After washing the few dishes, all were off for the 
various sports. Some caught frogs for bait on the small 
hooks, two men stood ankle-deep and sent the shining 
silver spinning for the big bass and trout; rifle shots 
heard afar told that the other men were finding squirrel ; 
the girls of the party strolled along the banks of the 
river, fishing here and there, or scurrying up the banks 
while one, braver than the others, killed the black 
snake. One venturesome girl with a rifle crept along 
among the trees, always keeping in sight however, and 
soon came in proudly bearing her game — a crow and a 
chicken hawk. And so the day passed. Nature getting 
in her healing and comforting rest in different ways, 
but each and every one reaping the full benefit of her 
inexhaustible wealth. 

After dinner and a few more hours of the fishing and 
hunting the time came to return home. The four in 



42 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

the little Ford decided to spend the night — the others 
returning. After this decision out came all the bread, 
bacon, butter and cakes from the other lunch basket to 
help out with supper and breakfast; The sofa pillows 
and lap robes to help make the beds for the night. 

When the good-byes were said, the four took an ex- 
hilarating spin around on the flats close by the camp- 
ing place, returning just as the moon rose a great globe 
of fire above. A fire was made to frighten away any 
prowlers of the wilds, and all sat around listening to 
the reminiscences of the two hunters in the crowd. 

Soon came the fun of making up resting places of 
such things as they happened to have; the automobile 
cushions, curtains, robes, jackets and sofa pillows, one 
girl preferring the tonneau of the little Ford, all un- 
conscious of its latent enchantment. Amid much 
merriment the couches of rest were selected, all the 
while sharp eyes of razor-backs peering through the 
underbrush at this intrusion into their home place. 

The girl hunter, for it was she who preferred the 
safer place to sleep, had no more than sunk to sleep in 
the cushioned depths of the automobile, before the little 
Ford started on its trip. Across the flats it sped, taking 
palmetto roots, quick turns, gopher holes, and all in its 
path at full speed — making straight for the Deep Hole, 
from whose unfathomed depths the trout had been lured 
to their death by the poor little frogs, who, in their 
turn were at the mercy of this hunter girl. Imagine 
the agony in her mind when she saw what was to be 
her punishment — to go down forever down into the 
dark, cold waters, when — just on the edge, as she closed 
her eyes to the horror of the situation and was holding 
her breath for the fatal plunge, there was a swerve to 
the right and she breathed a gasp of relief that her ia- 




"The Enchanted Automobile" 
(Hiisband of the author at the Wheel) 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 43 

visible chauffeur had saved her from this avi^ful end. 

On she was carried, this time in a gently rocking 
manner that soothed her after that dreadful shock, when 
— horrors upon horrors, she saw that she was being 
carried straight to jungle lands hitherto unknown. In 
the distance she could see huge wild cats walking back 
and forth, impatiently awaiting her approach; mon- 
strous wild boars with bared tusks were welcoming her 
swift oncoming with gutteral "woof-woof;" from every 
limb hung immense snakes with their long tongues 
reaching out towards her; the very air was hideous 
with the cries of revenge of the crows, hawks, owls and 
frogs. " If I ever get home I'll never hunt or fish 
again," was in this hunter girl's mind. 

Just as the wild cats crouched to spring, — the fowls 
all flew down with beaks and talons ready to tear her 
in pieces, — the snakes hissed in her ear and the wild 
boars with snapping, frothy mouths rushed to the sides 
of the car, — by a superhuman effort this tortured girl 
raised up and threw her shoe at the foremost wild 
creature. It hit — a razor-back hog that was scratch- 
ing his back on the front wheel of the car. 

A great many who can not be classed as natives, yet 
who seem to " belong " in this land of enchantment 
find excellent diversion in the form of growing fruits 
and flowers, and great is their reward. It was once my 
pleasure to become acquainted with an elderly couple 
living near my home, who, for the very pleasure it 
gives them, keep up the most wonderful yard it has 
been my good fortune to see in Florida, aside from the 
nurseries. Again I supply my note-book for descrip- 
tion. 

It cannot be truthfully said of anyone that they have 
seen all the beauties of Florida, if they have not had 
the pleasure of being shown over the private grounds 



44 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

surrounding the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mather in 
Bradentown. Here one finds the most luxuriant 
growth of nearly every known flower indigenous to 
Florida soil. 

Among the most familiar flowers are the brilliant 
red poinsettias, and a rare treat to the visitor, a white 
poinsettia; the delicate peach-blow hibiscus, the double 
red ones and the pretty single red. Eoses, deep-hued 
reds, pink, and the dreamy Mareshal Neils; ferns in 
wild abandon, making a really beautiful setting for the 
(dear, old-fashioned phlox, sweet elysium and four 
o*cloeks, which sod the grounds. 

Here is found, to the visitor's intense wonder, a 
lemon tree in full bloom, while the lemons, which hang 
in great bunches, are the size of the largest grape-fruit. 
This statement, seemingly an improbability, can be 
vouched for only by those who have seen them. 

Many beautiful vines are climbing everj'where, up to 
the second story window, on the porches, to the top of 
the wind-mill ; on the garage a wonderful Dutchman's 
pipe; on another trellis a vine, the seed pods of which 
resemble, in the minutest detail, parachutes as let fall 
from balloons, a most amazing, unnatural formation. 
There are ever so many plants brought from California 
also, which seem very much at home in their Florida 
environment. 

It would take too much space to enumerate the plants, 
and one would need be a botanist to remember the 
names, yet the visitor is indeed fortunate, who, together 
with the extreme pleasure of seeing this entrancing 
sight of flowers, ferns and fruit, growing in such 
profusion, feels the genuine welcome of the hospitable 
owners of this home. 

A most profitable work for one so inclined is making 




Portion of Grounds front of Mrs. Porter Palmer's home 
Cotirtesy Mrs. Palmer 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 45 

guava jelly. There is no fruit in the world that makes 
a more palatable jelly than the guava. It is a yellow 
fruit, about an inch to two inches in diameter, with a 
large number of hard, round seeds. For preserves 
and marmalades, when tliese seeds are removed, it is very 
popular, but its greatest hold is in the jelly glass and 
thousands of glasses are sent north annually. The 
guava bush is prolific in fruiting and gives forth a 
luxuriant growth. 

Tourists are delighted with some of the queer looking 
and unusual fruits found in the State,— for instance 
there is found the Papaw or melon fruit, a delicious 
large fruit resembling a melon, with rich golden meat 
of fine texture. The tree grows up to about twenty 
feet in height and the fruit clusters about the stem at 
the base of the branches similar to the coconanut. The 
natives value the tree especially for the fruit and the 
unusual use of the leaves. The leaf, when used in cook- 
ing, renders the toughest meat tender and disgestible. 

Another queer fruit, but one which is rapidly com- 
ing into favor, is the Avacado (or alligator) pear, 
shaped like the northern pear but covered with a smooth, 
hard green or purplish rind and contains a large seed. 
Between the seed and the rind is the " meat " which is 
used for making the most delicious salads, or, with a 
salad dressing poured in, is eaten from the rind like 
the meat of a musk-melon. Grown on trees which grow 
twenty to sixty feet high. 

Then there is the Mango, — in appearance somewhat 
similar to the Avocado, but of sweet, aromatic flavor. 
Grown on bushy trees, some covering a space sixty 
feet in diameter. Some of the finest specimens of the 
Mango tree are found in the grounds of Thomas A. 
Edison, Fort Myers. This fruit, like the Avacado and 



46 FASCI^^ATIXG FLORIDA. 

other tropical fruits, is more delicious in flavor here 
than in tlie tropics. 

The Mammee Sapota is a queer looking fruit, covered 
with a rough brown skin and containing a large black 
seed. The meat has a custard flavor and is very nutri- 
tious. The fruit attains a size of five to seven inches 
in length and two to three inches in diameter. It grows 
on a large, vigorous tree. 

Sapodilla — belonging to the same family as the 
mammee sapota but much smaller and round in shape 
instead of elongated. The tree is practically the same 
as the mammee sapota. The fruit is a good shipper 
but so far is not raised in sufficient quantities to be a 
revenue producer, the most of the northern supply com- 
ing to this country from Cuba. 

Cashew apple or cashew nut, — This strange apple 
is found in several varieties of different colors, but 
all bear seeds on the outside of the fruit. The seeds 
are roasted and make a delicious beverage, being used 
instead of chocolate or cocoa. 

There are many tropical plants which bear fruit 
that so far has not been included in the list of edibles 
but probably will be when curious Americans taste it 
a few times. 

It would no doubt prove a unique 3'et valuable 
addition to the aids of travellers should some enterpris- 
ing person compile a dictionary of the different fruits 
of Florida. The suggestion was brought to my mind 
upon seeing in an issue of the Tampa Tribune a descrip- 
tion of forty varieties of fruit grown in Lee County, 
from which some of the above and following descriptions 
are taken. 

Sugar Apple or " Sweet Sop " — This is one of the 
unique fruits of Lee County, resembling a huge berry 




Experiment Station, Gainsville 
Courtesy of the Director. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 47 

built up of large kernels in each of which is a seed. 
In color the sugar apple is a dark green shading to 
rich orange and its flavor is that of delicately flavored 
sugar candy. It is grown on a bushy tree which does 
not attain great height. 

CITRON— This fruit really belongs to the citrus 
family, and grows on a tree similar to the orange, but 
the fruit attains great size and has a very thick rind 
which is preserved and makes the citron of commerce. 

BANANA — This fruit grows profusely, particularly 
on the islands along the coast. 

COCOANUT— One of the most beautiful trees of 
this tropical country is the cocoanut palm. It is a 
prolific bearer, being accredited with " dropping a nut 
a day." 

SURINAM CHERRY— A small bright red fruit 
resembling in appearance a small tomato but with a 
delicious fruit flavor. Fine for jellies. Grows on a 
shrub, 

TAMARIND — Grows in pods like beans and used 
for brewing a fever medicine. Splendid flavor and 
healthful. The tree attains a luxuriant growth and is 
a splendid shade tree. 

COCOA PLUM— A whitish yellow fruit with pink 
spots. Grows wild along the coast. Sweet in flavor 
and used for jams and marmalade. 

SEA GRAPE, — Another wild fruit growing along 
the coast on the sandy beaches. The fruit grows in 
immense clusters and is splendid for jelly making. 
Birds and hogs relish the fruit, eating ofi: the meat and 
leaving the seeds, later in the season returning and 
eating the seeds. 

The CITRUS family is by far the greatest in quan- 
tity of all those raised in this State. This family is 



48 PASCINATINQ PLOEIDA. 

perhaps familiar to all the readers of this table and 
enumeration is all that is necessary. There are the 
grapefruit or pomelo, orange in its great variety, 
shaddock which is a big stepbrother of the grapefruit, 
kumquat which is the midget of the citrus family, 
the lemon and the lime. 

JAPANESE PERSIMMON— This fruit is the size 
of a small orange and has a delicious flavor and plenty 
of meat. It is best eaten right out of the grove, but 
will stand shipment for a considerable distance. The 
trees are sparse leaved but attain a good height and 
breadth. 

The Fruits named so far are those with which the 
northern reader is presumed to be more or less un- 
familiar. In addition, there are the following more 
common fruits that come to mind just at present: 
Strawberry, blackberry, mulberry, peach, date, pine- 
apple, loquat, olive, plum, Japan oleaster, fig, pecan, 
pear, pomegranite, Himalaya berry, dewberry, Mus- 
catine grape, and many varieties of fruit that are so 
closely akin to those named that it might confuse the 
reader if they are enumerated. 

Truly the great State of Florida and its numbers of 
pleasures are just beginning to be known. — '' There is 
not the least flower but seems to hold up its head, and 
to look pleasantly in the secret sense of the goodness 
of its heavenly Maker;" Every fruit repays its Maker 
for the balmy climate in deliciousness ; Fish seem 
flaunting and luring the lines thrown to them ; and it 
is a well known saying that " When one once gets the 
Florida sand in one's shoes there can be no doubt of 
one's return to Florida." 



Palms along the Shore. Florida 




FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 49 



CHAPTER IV. 

LAND OF PROFIT AND PLEASURE, 

When the Creator parceled out his gifts, to 
Florida fell a rich endowment. Among other gifts, 
there was given an equable climate, healthgiving water, 
fertile soil and golden fruits — a collection denied other 
states in its entirety. 

One must certainly be very hard to please who is not 
enchanted with Florida in all its phases. This is the 
laud of Opportunity and plenty. 

The very knowledge that Florida was discovered on 
Easter Sunday (by Juan Ponce de Leon, 1513) imbues 
one with a feeling of reverence, and one is constrained 
to call it — " the sphere of harmony and peace, The 
spot where angels find a resting place, when bearing 
blessing, they descend to earth." 

Wlien Jean Eibaut, with a band of Huguenots, 
landed first near St. Augustine, he described the coun- 
try as " the fairest, fruitfullest and pleasantest of all 
the world." 

In 1845 Florida became a state of the American 
Union. On the 10th of January, 1861, an ordinance 
of secession, which declared Florida to be a " sovereign 
and independent nation," was adopted by a state con- 
vention, and Florida became one of the Confederate 
States of America. 

The name Florida means "The land of flowers." 



50 FASCIXATING FLORIDA. 

this appellation deceives many unthinking ones and 
they are disappointed at not seeing hedges and fields 
and gardens filled to overflowing with flowers, fruits 
and vegetables. The literal meaning is that Florida 
is a land where any flowers, fruits or vegetables can be 
successfully grown by giving them the attention nec- 
essary in any other place. 

Really Florida is just now, in a way, being dis- 
covered. The eyes of the world are turning southward 
and Florida is the mecca of all. It is a great garden 
in which men can sow and reap a golden harvest. 

Verily there is change in everything. At one time 
the advice to the young man was " Young man go 
West," now that Florida has been " found " wise heads 
have changed the advice to " Young man hurry to 
Florida and get in on the ground floor." 

It has been demonstrated time and again that men 
who have run their course in life and seem settled for 
the remaining days, on coming to Florida have made 
good in an incredibly short time. An instance verify- 
ing this statement was brought to my knowledge only 
a few days ago. An old couple 68 and 71 years of age, 
in moderate circumstances, came to Florida and within 
a year, had cleared their four acres of land they were 
able to buy, built a house and had a comfortable living 
from their garden. Surrounded by comforts in their 
old age and several years of living added to their 
credit. 

As it was not our good fortune last summer to be 
able to " cross the waters " for a rest, or take a long 
trip to the mountains, lakes, or any of the far-famed 
health resorts for a change and recreation, we decided 
to take our vacation trip at closer range. 

At last, we had finished all preparations and were on 




The Whispering Palm 

(St. John's River View) 

Courtesy Florida Grower, Tampa. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 51 

board the big ice-boat, on which the Captain had 
kindly consented to take us down the Bay. 

The Captain called in his lusty cheery voice to his 
assistant at the wheel, " Straight ahead," and straight 
ahead we went, over the crystal clear water, where, in 
the shallows, we could see the crabs ever with the burden 
of their homes on their backs; the schools of minnows 
darting here and there; the amazing sight of "a beau- 
tiful shell seemingly rolling and tumbling of its own 
accord, but in reality propelled by a small creature, 
who is the owner of this pink-tinted pearl palace. 

To the right of us, a huge pelican swooped and rode 
the waves in a graceful manner, much belying his 
ungainly appearance; to the left, a beautiful glistening 
small fish, jumping high above the water in his impet- 
uous haste to outswim some enemy of the deep; away 
in front, the porpoises rolled in their lazy way, as they 
went one by one, in their search for some unthinking 
creature to their taste. 

When the first stop was made, and Ave were told 
that we could go ashore and " stretch ourselves," we 
gladly did so. " All aboard," broke into our rest and 
we made haste to continue our boat-ride, and even- 
tually, after stopping several times to put off ice, we 
came to our final stop. Then, each one carrying a 
basket or box and filling a little express wagon bor- 
rowed from the boatman's boy, we went up to the house, 
which had been turned over to us, and soon were very 
much at home enjoying our lunch. 

After supper the first night, the men said : " Let's 
put on our bathing-suits and walk the beach to see if 
we can find a turtle." 

Few cared to go for such a long walk, as we were all 
tired, so the two men went out alone. In about five 



52 FASCITsTATIXG FLORIDA. 

minutes back they came, saying they had found a 
turtle as soon as they started, and for us to come and 
see him, I was anxious to go, but was preparing my 
baby for bed, so told the others to go without me; 
I would come later. 

My tired baby was soon fast asleep, and I started 
out to the beach. Several people offered to go with me 
for the path wound between thick underbrush and 
vine-hung trees, past a tumbled down shop, where it 
seemed every minute something would jump at you, 
but I said, 

"No; I know just where they are, and can hear 
them talking by the time I am half-way there. I 
won't be afraid." 

Away I went, so bravely,, expecting, when the end 
of the path was reached, to see by the light of the 
moon the helpless, sprawling turtle, surrounded by the 
light-hearted tormentors. My bravery turned into 
frightened consternation when I found, where I ex- 
pected a crowd of people, a wave-washed beach, un- 
peopled save by the inhabitants of the deep, rolling 
and tumbling in their mad haste to return to their 
water-homes. At the back of me, tall grasses and 
palms rustled and cast their weird shadows. Out in 
the Pass, I seemed to see the " spirits of Chici-Okobee 
and his warriors in eternal combat with the spirits of 
evil ; and the children of the storm-god, protecting the 
resting-place of Sara De Soto." I turned and ran 
down the beach to some dark objects I saw, thinking, 
surely I must be near them; but on nearing the place 
I found some cows quietly standing. 

Nothing was left for me to do but retrace my tracks 
of fear; and with wildly beating heart, I ran back to 
the house to find that the crowd had taken a short cut 




Caloosahatchie River 
Courtesy Fla. Grower, Tampa 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 53 

home. I did not return to see the turtle that night; 
but in the morning, when the sun had melted the mist- 
ghosts and dispersed the shadow-wraiths, I went down 
to the beach in time to see the boatmen butcher him. 
That was a sight to remember; such a big thing, on 
his back, perfectly at the mercy of man. 

The next evening, all in good order, and accom- 
panied, I walked the beach, and I do not believe I ever 
enjoyed anything more in my life. The water '' like a 
mirror of steel reflected the doings of the stars," and 
the gentle lapping of the waves seemed ever telling the 
love-stories of the water-nymphs. 

We talked in hushed voices, as the beauty of the 
night filled us with awe, and we thought of the all- 
powerful Creator who could plan such a wonderful 
scene. Not a turtle was found, but the memory of 
that walk and the beautiful impression it made on my 
mind fully compensated for the loss of the glory of 
turning a turtle. 

The rest of our stay was one mixture of pleasures, 
picking up shells on the beautiful shinng shores where 

" The bridegroom Sea, 
Is toying with his wedded bride, — the Shore. 
He decorates her shining brow with shells, 
And then retires to see how fine she looks, 
Then, proud, runs up to kiss her." 

Surf bathing, taking long rides behind the old 
family horse, eating plums, watermelons, and other 
fruits. Then, at night when all the little ones were in 
the "Land of Nod," we would sit on the porch, with 
the moonlight filtering through the leaves of the sooth- 
ing camphor-tree, and listen to the plaintive call of the 



54 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

whippoorwill, and to the distant roar of the gulf telling 
us that 

" The voice of the great Creator 
Dwells in that mighty tone." 

All good times come to an end, and, soon, we were 
returning to our routine duties with renewed energ}', 
and resolving to go again. 

A most comprehensive book on the allurements of 
cruising in the Florida waters is "Florida Enchant- 
ments " by A. W. and Julian A. Dimoek. This book is 
available to everyone interested in the pleasures of 
Florida, but for the convenience of showing just what 
is to be found near the Ten Thousand Islands, on the 
Homossassa River and the Everglades, without taking 
those lengthy trips for first hand knowledge, I shall 
quote several passages. They say that " Cruising in 
the waters of Florida is the ne plus ultra of outdoor 
life," also, " I can yet believe that Perpetual Youth 
of the spirit is one of the Florida Enchantments." 
In their book they speak of the State of Florida as 
" Florida, the Fascinating," and surely it must be to 
them or to any others whose hearts, eyes and ears are 
attuned to the peacefulness, beauties and calls of this 
Enchanted land. 

In and out and around the Ten Thousand Islands, 
the labyrinthic rivers, and marshes of the Everglades, 
these men have found profit and pleasure. Many a 
specimen of their taking is valued in the treasure 
house of things nearly extinct. They write innately 
of things most people know by hearing. " Massive 
clouds wonderfully colored, which were duplicated in 
the mirror of the water until the illusion of a sky 




,-Vm-kMi. 



Hed,2:e of Oleanders 
Courtesy J. B. Chaplin, Jr. Sarasota. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 55 

beneath us of infinite depth made me cling to the 
boat for dizziness," gives one an idea of the grandeur 
of the scenery. From their description one sees the 
" Great vines, twisted like cables," oysters hanging in 
great bunches from the mangroves, the coral reefs, 
turtles crawling the beaches, the rookery of pelicans, 
roseate spoon-bills, white ibis, egrets. One follows 
them in their hunt for the " tiger of the sea," and with 
bated breath watch their struggle when capturing a 
" specimen of the wild cattle of the sea " — a manatee. 
They harpooned a manatee and to quote them, " We 
were carried east, west, north and south, through 
lagoons, bays, creeks and rivers in darkness that could 
be felt, knowing nothing of where we were, steering 
always as the line to the manatee led." 

One would think that no greater calamity could be- 
fall than to be lost in the Ten Thousand Islands but 
in " Florida Enchantments " the authors refute that 
idea by saying, ''Being lost among the Ten Thousand 
Islands is one's normal condition and without signifi- 
cance." 

A new-old industry, which no doubt will prove 
profitable, is the Sisal Hemp Industry. In an ex- 
tremely comprehensive article on the subject, B. F. 
Borchardt says in part; 

" In 1834 a certain Dr. Perrine introduced into 
Florida and planted near Tampa, a number of sisal 
hemp plants which he brought with him from France. 
From the port of Tampa the first shipments of these 
plants were made, and it is said on quite an extensive 
scale, to Yucatan, southern Mexico, now known as the 
center of sisal hemp industry. The growing of the 
plant there and the reduction of rope fiber have made 
wonderful strides and it to-day forms the backbone of 



56 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

the prosperity of that part of Mexico. To-day the prod- 
igal industry bids fair to return to Florida soil, and 
conditions in southern Florida make it not only pos- 
sible and feasible, but are entirely favorable to its 
return. 

" The revival of the industry occurred through an 
accident, as many other great discoveries are made. 
A. W. Knowles, a young, energetic and far-sighted 
Bahaman, chanced to pass by the Catholic cathedral in 
Tampa. Quite a number of the sisal plants have been 
set ou!. in front of the building. Knowles had been 
raised in the sisal hemp industry in the Bahmas and 
had been for many years the buyer of a large New York 
house in this product. One look convinced him ; he saw 
that it could be raised in Florida. Without further 
delay he began casting about for a suitable location for 
a large plantation, with a site for a reducing, or decor- 
ticating plant, and rope walks. This he found at St. 
James City, Fla., on Pine Island, twenty-seven miles 
west of Ft. Myers. 

" Sisal hemp offers to you a profitable crop without 
other expense than that of the first clearing of the land 
and the purchasing of the plants, after which you have 
nothing more to do except to remove the young plants 
which spring from the mother-plant during its life 
time. You must, however, remember that one of these 
young plants must be left at a sufficient distance, say 
three feet, to take the place of the mother. We can 
call this for convenience, the " heir " plant. All sisal 
hemp are more or less air-plants, but tliis particular 
plant succeeds to the place of the mother and is the 
heir of it, when it has passed the stage of usefulness. 
The remains of the old tree plant are then removed 



FASCINATING FLOIUDA. 57 

and you allow the young plant you have left to grow 
and propagate young ones and so ad infinitum. 

" The life of the sisal plant is about seven years, 
but its death is postponed three years by cutting, 
making the life of the industrial plant about ten 
years. About 100 small plants are given off, from 
its roots, which are placed in nurseries from time to 
time, leaving one to take the place of the mother plant 
at its death. At that time this " heir " plant is about 
three years old. When the sisal plant reaches its 
maturity it throws a pole about thirty feet in height 
and from this drop from 1,500 to 3,000 small plants, 
which are also planted first in the nursery and after 
one year in the plantation. 

" After planting, the tree requires no attention, no 
fertilizer, no irrigation, no plowing. It gathers its chief 
support from the atmosphere and will grow on any 
kind of land but not in water. Leaves can be cut from 
the tree when between two and three years of age. 

" The factory which the company is now bringing 
to completion will be placed in the hands of William 
H. Couillard, who will be factory superintendent and 
who is also a director of the company. Mr. Couillard 
was formerly with the Bay State Cordage company in 
Newburyport, Mass. He has had forty years' experi- 
ence in the rope-making business, his father also hav- 
ing spent his business career in this work." 

Of course it is well known that the principal in- 
dustry in Florida is the cultivation of citrus fruits for 
which the state is noted and when the work of reclaim- 
ing the Everglades is completed that is expected to be 
the greatest sugar-producing center of the world and 
Florida is to-day the center of the naval stores industry. 
On account of a larger seacoast than any other state, it 



58 FASCINATING PLOEIDA. 

is safe to say that the fisheries industry is one of the 
most important, and no less in importance is the sponge 
fisheries in the Gulf. 

A comparatively limited number of persons — except 
those directly connected with the mining of phosphate 
or manufacture of fertilizers — have any correct con- 
ception of the importance and magnitude of the phos- 
phate mining industry and the manufacture of 
fertilizers. According to C. G. Menninger, Consult- 
ing Mining Engineer, in the Manufacturers' IJecord, 
Florida ranks first in importance as the source of 
phosphate in the United State. The deposits in 
Florida are found in two forms. First, hard rock; 
second, Florida land pebble. 

Phosphate is used by all fertilizer manufacturers 
in every part of the world as the source of supply from 
which is derived their phosphoric acid, this being one 
of the three absolute essentials to plant life growth. 
The valuable ingredient in phosphate rock is phos- 
phoric acid, which is combined in the form of lime, 
as tricalcium phosphate, and is commercially termed 
"bone phosphate of lime," being exactly the same 
chemical formula as animal bone. 

Phosphoric acid in phosphate rock in its crude form 
as mined is not available as plant food. In the 
manufacture of fertilizer it is necessary to grind the 
crude material into a fine powder, then treat same with 
sulphuric acid; by this process the insoluble tricalcium 
phosphate is converted into what is termed available 
phosphoric acid. Available phosphoric acid consists 
of water soluble and citric soluble, and in this form is 
readily assimilated as a plant food when applied to the 
soil. 

One who did not know would laugh to hear it said 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 59 

that the orange blossom has any value aside from the 
adornment of brides and, of course, producting, if left 
on the trees, the golden fruit, but the New York 
American tells us that it has been discovered that their 
essence may be advantageously employed to lessen the 
dangers and discomfort of surgical operations. 

Vaporized orange essence, whose odor is ten times 
as strong as that of ether, is now used to dull the sense 
of smell so that ether may be subsequently introduced 
without the patient being aware of it. 

The patient "goes under" without a struggle, 
possibly imagining himself picking oranges in sunny 
Florida. More important still, however, is the fact 
that the patient comes out of his stupor without any of 
the pains or nausea usually experienced where ether is 
administered alone. In short, both the " before " and 
" after " effects of the deadening drug are entirely 
eliminatad. 

Dr. James T. Gwathmey, anesthetists, of St. 
Bartholomew's and of the Skin and Cancer Hospitals, 
New York, and Dr. W. C. Woolsey, of B'rooklvn, 
discovered the new method of administering ether. 
Dr. Gwathmey has been working with the orange 
essence for about four months, and has applied it to 
nearly 200 cases with great success. Ether itself can- 
not be done away with. It is one great basic anes- 
thetic, and now that orange essence so readily dispels 
its objectionable features, little is left to be desired. 

A friend of the Florida orange growers is W. C. 
Temple, who organized The Florida Citrus Exchange. 
He is a Floridian — his birthplace was Starke, Fla. 
He was a poor boy and by sheer ability fought his way 
to the highest pinnacle of financial fame and great 
has been his success. Great names are always the 



60 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

subject of verse, and The Florida Grower contains a 
" scrap " dedicated to Mr. Temple, which shows in a 
very clear way his worth in the interest of the Citrus 
Exchange. 

'ERE'S TO YOU, MR. TEMPLE. 

*E's watched this bloomin' citrus game for years 

'As Mister Temple, 'an 'e knows " what's what," you 
bet. 
'E's watched the grower through 'is joys an' fears. 

And when 'e knows a thing, 'is ways are set; 
'E's one as thinks the grower ought to know 

Who bought 'is fruit, how much, an' when an' where 
'E's put up an honest fight for what he knows is right; 

'E's one as thinks the grower ought to grow. 

So 'ere's to you, Mr. Temple, at your 'ome on Tampa 
Bay, 
You're a most infernal scrapper, so harken to our 
lay. 
We always knew you'd do it, we've been your bestest 
rooter ; 
You put the IT in citrus, an' th' crimp in th' green 
fruiter. 

Some say as Mr. Temple knows lots an' lots in steel, 

That's 'e's 'andled men an' millions in 'is day. 
But in oranges, 'e 'ardly knows th' inside from th' peel ; 

That 'e'll ruin all if 'e keeps on 'is way ; 
Let me tell you somethin', brother, just give th' man 
'is due 

Mr. Temple's makin' wrong things come around 
right; 
'E sees the end 'e's after, an' it's always in 'is view, 

And if 'e can't get it peaceful there's a fight. 



Cypress on St. Johns River, Florida. 




FASCINATING FLORIDA. 61 

So 'ere's to Mr. Temple, at 'is 'ome on Tampa Bay, 
You're a most infernal scrapper, so 'earken to our 

lay; 
You've put the IT in citrus, an' th' crimp in th' green 
fruiter. 

G. Nilpik. 

Florida has been called the fisherman's paradise, 
and surely the habitues of the fishing resorts think so. 
There can be no greater thrill than that felt when 
the tarpon, the " Silver King " leaps, and proud is 
the disciple of Isaac Walton when he has landed one, 
especially if he has followed the sportsman's rule of 
the game, which gives the royal gamester a fighting 
chance against the skill of his adversary. 

The variety of edible fish is large, and they are 
considered by many superior to those found in northern 
waters, and it is not so much the fish as just catch- 
ing the fish, that appeals largely to the traveler. At 
any of the hotels one may be stopping, sea food of all 
kinds may be ordered. It is indeed interesting to 
catch the tarpon, the pompano, King fi^h, blue fish, 
red fish, mackerel and mullet. 

Florida offers the best of opportunities for the fellow 
with some backbone, and it has a reward for the one 
with merely wishbone. The one without money must 
be filled with patience for it takes time and work and 
the close touch of human occupancy to subdue a wil- 
derness, whether it be a valley or a plain or a forest or 
a section of fertile muck of Florida. Those who come 
to Florida and work willingly, intelligently and per- 
severingly will find the probationary period of pioneer- 
ing very short and the reward rich. 



62 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

For the poor Florida is no fairyland over which 
runs a royal road through idleness to luxury. 

To those possessing riches Florida is decidedly a 
playground for they can command the greatest luxu- 
ries of the world and enjoy them under the most 
auspicious conditions, of healthfulness, peacefulnesa 
and comfort. 



FASCINATII^rG FLORIDA. 63 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SUNSHINE CITY AND 0THEE3. 

Newspaper editors, are, as a rule, considered rather 
close and cautious in business deals. An editor in St. 
Petersburg makes the unusual offer to give away every 
edition of his paper on every day the sun does not 
shine. From Oct. 1st, 1910, to Jan. 1st, 1912, the 
paper was given away but six times under those terms. 

The Sunshine City is a haven for the invalid and a 
place of delight for all visitors. It occupies a pro- 
tected position at the southernmost point of the 
Pinellas Peninsula, which extends out from the West 
Coast of Florida about forty miles between the Gulf 
of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Xo cold or warm winds 
reach this peninsula until they have been tempered 
and ozone-laden in their passage over miles of salt 
water. 

Visitors are charmed with the richness and beauty 
of the flowers they find blooming in dead of winter, 
magnificent in their regal colorings. Then they see 
the vivid red of the poinsettia, the pale yellow of the 
allamander, the royal purple of the bougainvillea, the 
brilliant orange and red of the begonia, the yellow of 
the jasmine, the flaming masses of hibiscus and 
poniciana, the vari-colored blooms of the oleander — 
but the catalogue grows too lono-. These bright bios- 



64 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

soms, perfect else, lack perfume. But there are roses, 
roses, roses, and many of the old familiar flowers; 
there is the magnolia and that hauntingly sweet 
southern beauty, the cape jessamine; and, loveliest, 
most fragrant of all, the bridal blossoms awakened to 
beauty and sunlight by the song of the roguish mock- 
ing-bird as he shares the green shelter of the orange 
bough. 

There are many interesting side trips by trolley, rail, 
and water. It is a convenient place from which to 
leave. 

On a night when the air is heavy with the fragrance 
of orange blossoms, and the mocking birds, cheated by 
the soft shine of moon and stars into a belief of day- 
time, are singing in the trees, when the Bay, a sheet 
of placid silver, lies sleeping in the moonlight, then the 
traveler, remembering the land of cold and storm but 
lately left behind, can well imagine himself in a land 
of enchantment. 



St. Petersburg the Beautiful 

Thou queen of joy and health ! 
What are life's vain ambitions, 

What all the lure of wealth, 
Beside the thrill of living 

Beneath thy gentle sky 

Where all the time is Summer 

And to breathe is ecstasy. 

Thy rare poinsettia's crimson flame, 
Thy bogun's purple pile. 

Thy grand bignonia's golden mass. 
Which charm, enchant, beguile. 




Shell House and Fence 
built of sea-shells by Owen Albright 

(He can be seen sitting in doorway) 

Courtesy St. Petersburg Board of Trade 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 65 

And roses rare and verdure rich 
The thought of cold defy 

Where all the time is Summer 
And the flowers never die. 

Lew. B. Brown. 

Some years ago the American Medicinal Society con- 
ceived the idea of establishing in the United States a 
place known as Health City, where an immense 
sanitarium would be erected and all the members of the 
Association would send patients in their charge to 
recuperate their health. Accordingly this Society sent 
out representatives to different parts of Florida and 
California, even the southern end of Florida's mainland, 
and Key West, Cuba, and Isle of Pines. 

For three years these distinguished scientists made 
all manner of observations, and it was decided, when 
their reports were sent in, to locate Health City on the 
Pinellas Peninsula, a few miles south of St. Petersburg, 
on what is known as Point Pinellas. For financial 
reasons the plan fell through. The report was read be- 
fore the American Medical Association's 36th annual 
meeting at Baltimore, Md., April, 1885. 

That it was considered a choice and favored spot by 
the Indians there is no doubt. The archeology of the 
United States shows that, as a rule, the best food- 
poducing and healthiest situations contain abundant 
evidences of the long residence of the early inhabitants. 
The Indian mounds on Point Pinellas are by far the 
largest in the state, and the other evidences of an 
ancient populous settlement are equally plain. 

Mr. William C. Chase, who has traveled extensively 
over the State, with a view to studying its climatology, 
says : " Were I sent abroad to hunt for a haven of 



66 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

rest for tired man, where new life would come with 
every sun, and slumber full of sleep with every moon, 
I would select Point Pinellas, Florida. It is the kindest 
spot, the most perfect paradise : more beautiful it could 
not be made. Still, calm, and eloquent in every feature, 
it must be intended for some wise purpose in the 
economy of man's life. Its Indian mounds show that it 
was selected by the original inhabitants for a populous 
settlement. These mounds are not very common in 
Florida; and where found there are always excellent 
attractions. Some of the mounds of Point Pinellas will 
measure from one hundred to three hundred feet in 
circumference and thirty to ninety feet high — quite a 
hill some of them. A skeleton dug from one of them 
had a thigh bone five inches longer than that on a man 
living on the Point who was six feet tall. 

" At its southern extremity the land is shaped like a 
pyramid, and at its apex now stands a high palmetto 
tree which, viewed from a distance in any direction, as 
it rises out of the sand, presents a singular spectacle. 
Poetry might suggest that it was a beacon to this genial 
climate, but actually around its roots on the point the 
sea sweeps over a broad and graceful beach trending in 
beauty for miles on either side. From here, extending 
far up into the land toward the base of the pyramid, 
Health City should be erected." 

Miami, springing up as if by magic, and appropriately 
called from the beginning, the " Magic City," furnishes, 
perhaps, the only instance on record in which a full- 
fledged city came into existence at one bound without 
first having been a town. A city that was never a town 
is a unique product of American hustle. On July 28, 
1896, or three months and thirteen days after the first 
train reached the site of Miami, the almost impenetrable 




Indian Shell Mound 
Courtesy St. Petersburg Board of Trade. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 67 

tropical jungle melted away before the weapons of 
civilization wielded by an army of men, and the place 
was incorporated as a city under the laws of Florida, 
which required that there be 300 registered voters in a 
community to entitle it to incorporation as a city — less 
than that number constitutes a town. Way down the 
shimmering, dreamy East Coast, on the southeast corner 
of Florida, the " index finger " of the world, 366 miles 
south of Jacksonville is found the " Magic City." 

Sight-seeing cars make two trips daily during the 
tourist season. These trips cover the surrounding 
country for a distance of 25 miles, and embrace many 
points of interest. These trips through the grapefruit 
groves, and the winter gardens of the United States, 
where one may see hundreds of acres of vegetables grow- 
ing and being prepared in the packing-houses for ship- 
ment north, are very interesting. 

Delightful sight-seeing water trips can be made by 
the boats of the Biscayne ISTavigation Company on 
beautiful Biscayne Bay, tropical Miami River, and the 
State Drainage Canal, the gateway into that wonderful 
land of mystery, the Florida Everglades. The Royal 
Palm Hotel is one of the show places of the Magic 
City and a never ending delight and comfort to the 
guest within its walls. 

Lon. A. Warner of Miami, describes That Wonder- 
ful Florida Moon in a most realistic manner as follows : 

" Last night I gazed beyond fishing-boats nestling 
near the shore of Biscayne Bay, and selfishly, greedily 
drank in the beauty of a transformation in Nature's 
realm which beggars description. To the eastward the 
signal was given by multitudinous rays of vari-colored 
lights seeming to shoot into the blue sky from the ocean 
depths beyond. The moon peeped over the island as 



68 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

though making sure that the coast was clear, and gave 
out a blush of modesty which radiated in every direc- 
tion. As the magnificent orb slowly climbed from the 
horizon it seemed to race with a fleecy cloud, whose 
raiment was bordered in a peculiar black, forming a 
contrast in colors of crimson, black and white. The 
great red light reflected with a wondrous power as it 
lifted itself just above the bay and, though quite dis- 
tant, I discerned on the island each individual tree 
skirting the shores, the effect being that of a far-away 
forest-fire with tongues of flame leaping into the 
heavens. Across the bay crept a line of light in all the 
colors a rainbow might wear, pointing the path from 
the ocean to the pretty city nestling at the bay; and 
through it all, silence reigned supreme. Without fric- 
tion this mighty transformation proceeded until the 
moon, well up into the ethereal blue, gradually threw 
off its colors of red, and moved along as a majestic 
sentinel of the night. An owl hooted from a tree near 
the shore, and the merry laugh of a child sounded from 
a vine-covered cottage, as zephyrs from the sea played 
with its curly locks. And that was all." 

Another interesting place to visit is Ocala. The 
residents say: "To know our section is to love it. It 
is the golden mean of the universe, where sunshine 
meets the frost line and turns it into diamond dew; 
where the Gulf wind greets the ocean breeze and tempers 
it to a velvet kiss; where the tropic buds woo the 
temperate flowers and the palm tree courts the yew; 
where tlie ardor of spring is ever anon, and winter has 
ceased to be." 

Province of Ocaly was discovered by De Soto in 
1539. De Soto found, where is now Marion County, 
a remarkable native province called the " Province of 




Lighthouse Pensacola 
Courtesy Pensacola Commercial Ass'n. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 69 

Ocaly." The inhabitants were sun-worshippers, and in a 
general way resembled the Aztecs of Mexico. The 
capital of this province, " Ocaly," has been located in 
the Big Hammock, south of Ocala, where are traces of 
an Indian mound, and flotsam and jetsam of the long 
extinct race are occasionally found. 

Every section of Florida has something distinctive in 
attractiveness and otfers opportunities for the spending 
of an ideal winter far from the discomforts of disagree- 
able northern weather, but it seems that Fort Myers 
gives one an unusually delightful feeling of interest and 
pleasure while within its bounds. 

" Truly Fort Myers is in that strip of country where 
the tropics and the semi-tropics merge in their irregular 
caprices, where the royal palm towers beside the 
palmetto and the royal poinciana rears its massive trunk 
beside the scrub oak and pine. No matter how sordid 
his errand, the visitor cannot approach this portion of 
Florida — the paradoxical, beauteous sentinel between 
civilization and the fastnesses of the Everglades, where 
only the remnants of the proud Seminoles make their 
homes as primitively as they did a century ago — without 
feeling elation at the new and interesting scenes which 
unfold before him. 

Fort Myers is unquestionably a frontier city, yet 
nowhere else in America is there such another. There 
is no evidence of the pioneer about the appearance of 
this sentinel. On the other hand, natural beauty has 
been enhanced and made to bend itself to the machina- 
tions of the landscape artist until more than half the 
city of Fort Myers seems to have been builded with an 
eye single to beauty and elegance. Broad cement side- 
walks; shell roads and streets which stretch away in 
every direction as level and well kept as any boulevard ; 



70 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

both walks and drives shaded by some of the rarest 
palms and trees, both beautiful and serviceable ; the 
elegant winter homes of the wealthy northern people 
who have found this delightful retreat while in their 
own clime the snow flies and the hoar frost gathers ; the 
broad Caloosahatchie with its dock and verdure lined 
shores — all of these combine to make of Fort Myers 
a city sufficient unto itself and unique on the continent 
of America. 

The first historical account of Fort Myers is when it 
was occupied by the United States military on Novem- 
ber 4, 1841. It was abandoned March 12, 1842. From 
1842 to 1850 there is nothing known of the place and it 
appears that it was almost forgotten. It was February 
14th when Major Eidgely was ordered to proceed to the 
mouth of the Caloosahatchie, ascend the river and select 
the most eligible point on its southern bank, establish 
a military post and name the place Fort Myers in honor 
of Col. A. C. Myers, a distinguished veteran of the 
Mexican War, and at that time the Chief quartermaster 
of the War Department of Florida. Fort Myers for 
eight eventful years was occupied by the military of the 
United States and was the scene of much activity on 
lines of Indian warfare and Indian migration to the far 
West. It was at Fort Myers Col. Eector, United States 
Indian Agent, with his delegation of friendly Indians 
from Arkansas, induced the fearless Billy Bowlegs to 
yield to the scepter of Uncle Sam. The days of his 
glory had departed and he gracefully accepted the 
inevitable and with most of his tribe migrated to the 
Indian Territory, never to return. 

Here during the Seminole war, was one of the 
principal garrisons of the United States troops and 
among the soldiers who afterward gained distinction in 




The Hancock Palm 
Courtesy Ft. Myers Bd. of Trade 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 71 

the war of the States, was General Winfield Scott Han- 
cock, later candidate for President of the United States. 
The house in which he lived is now the beautiful home 
of Mr. H. E. Heitman, and the stately date palm 
perhaps the largest in the United States, and other trees 
growing on the place, were planted by the then Quarter- 
master Hancock. 

America has no duplicate of the Fort Myers section. 
Here the winter tourist finds himself on the borderland 
of the tropics, enjoying all that the tropics can offer 
for his pleasure, yet with the noticeable absence of that 
enervating influence which the zone of the equator 
exerts, sapping out life and ambition and leaving only 
the dreamy laziness which has capacity only for enjoy- 
ment of continuous rest. 

Here in Fort Myers a man is alive every moment 
of his time and he plans for enjoyment with a zest 
equal to that he feels in his winter sports in the North. 
His hunting trips and his fishing excursions have the 
added inducement of success assured, for the wilds 
abound in big game, and the waters teem with the 
choicest of fish. 

One of the most notable figures in the present day 
history of the world is a living proof of the truth of 
the assertion just made. Thomas A. Edison, the 
" Electrical Wizard," came to Fort Myers to work. It 
was in Fort Myers that the phonograph, that wonder- 
ful instrument which has bridged time as the telegraph 
and telephone bridged space, was studied out and 
brought to successful working shape. The original 
model of this wonderful piece of mechanism is still in 
the workshop in Fort Myers, where it was built, and it 
is one of the great inventor's pleasures after a hard 
day's work, to treat some of his friends to a few selec- 
tions on this pioneer of sound reproducers. 



72 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

Every winter Mr. Edison hies himself to Fort Myers, 
when the first suowflakes fall. He declares that his 
best work and the work he has most enjoyed has been 
done in this workshop in far southern portion of the 
country, and he has surrounded this workshop with a 
beautiful park in which he often walks as he studies out 
details of some new feature of his electrical devices. 
His home and its surrounding park of semi-tropical 
splendor are among the first features of Fort Myers 
when the native shows his visitors about this pretty 
little city. 

Florida people are indeed proud to own that Thomas 
A. Edison chose Florida for, one would say, his retreat. 
In that interesting book by Frank Lewis Dyer and 
Thomas C. Martin, " Edison : His Life and Inventions," 
we are told that Edison began experimenting when he 
was about ten or eleven years of age. The account of 
his first invention is an amusing one. " It was at 
Stratford, in Canada, where he went as a railway teleg- 
rapher, that Edison's inventiveness was first displayed. 
The hours of work of a night operator were from 7 
P. M., to 7 A. M., and it was provided that the operator 
every hour, from 9 P. M. until relieved by the day 
operator, should send in the signal " 6 " to the train 
despatcher's office. Edison reveled in the opportunity 
for study and experiment given him by his long hoiirs 
of freedom in the daytime, but needed sleep, just as any 
healthy youth does. Confronted by the necessity of 
sending in this watchman's signal as evidence that he 
was awake and on duty, he constructed a small wheel 
with the notches on the rim, and attached it to the 
clock in such a manner that the night watchman could 
start it when the line was quiet, and at each hour the 



^^^■^' 'J*| . .aMi ■ >' -^ 




Choicest of Fish Caught in the Caloosahatchee River 

and presented by Ike Shaw, Taxidermist 
Courtesy Ft. jNIyers Bd. of Trade 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 73 

wheel revolved and sent in accurately the dots required 
for " sixing." 

"The invention was a success, the device being, 
indeed, similar to that of the modern direct messenger 
box; but it was soon noticed that, in spite of the 
regularity of the report, " Sf " could not be raised even 
if a train message were sent immediately after." Detec- 
tion and a reprimand came in due time. 

It sounds like heresy to say that Edison became an 
electrician by mere chance, but it is the sober fact that 
to this brilliant leader in electrical achievement escape 
into the chemical domain still has the aspect of a 
delightful truant holiday. 

It is interesting to know that Counsellor Louis Barth 
formerly of Budapest but now of Vienna, Paris, the 
most noted collector of autographs in the world, when 
asked " the one you want most now ? " replied " Edison ; 
America has only one Edison. I shall strive to get his 
name" — Collector Barth has autographs of 989 noted 
people, — nearly every ruling sovereign of Europe and 
some sultans of Africa and Asia, every dominant states- 
man of all the countries, every leading writer and artist ; 
scientists, actors, publicists and some distinguished 
nobles and now he wants the autograph of Thomas A. 
Edison, our Edison of Fort Myers, Fla. 

Another beautiful winter home in the Fort Myers 
section, is Poinsetta Place, belonging to Dr. Franklin 
Miles, of Elkhart, Ind., a noted figure in the medical 
world, and one of the most noted practitioners in the 
countr}^ 

Dr. Miles has furnished one of the most convincing 
proofs of the manner in which a man of large affairs 
regards the possibilities of the Fort Myers section. He 
has invested heavily in land, buying a tract here and a 



U FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

tract there and afterwards quietly securing all that lay 
between, until now he has thousands of acres of wonder- 
fully fertile land down the river from Fort Myers. And 
not an acre is for sale. Dr. Miles is still buying land, 
all that is offered in the section in which he has already 
invested heavily, being taken without question if the 
price is such that he can see profit ahead. It is the 
tribute of an acute business mind to a section whose 
potentialities are only begining to be realized and whose 
development can hardly be said to have begun. 

These are only two of the many noted people who 
have " found " Fort Myers. During the winter .season 
the harbor is dotted with splendid yachts belonging to 
people whose names head the social news of the great 
newspapers of two continents. There has been seen for 
three seasons the sailing yacht Valhalla, the largest of 
its kind afloat, formerly the property of Miss Anna 
Gould, afterwards changing hands twice but returning 
to Fort Myers with every owner. Other yachts of note 
sail or steam in and out through the winter season. 

Palm Beach one of the greatest resorts of the world 
is well known to have exerted a charm and enchant- 
ment over all who have visited the place, but it is not so 
widely known that West Palm Beach is growing in the 
reflected glory of this famous place and bids fair one 
day to excel its pattern in attractiveness. 

The founding of this most charming city dates from 
the arrival of Mr. Henry M. Flagler who laid out the 
city as an entrance for his East Coast railroad and it is 
probably true that even this far-sighted genius never 
really realized what it would amount to as a wonderful 
little city although he probably believed it would share 
in the reflected glory of the world's great resort. Palm 
Beach, directly opposite across Lake Worth. A title, 




Rubber Tree, Grounds of 
Royal Palm Hotel, Ft. Myers 
Courtesy Fort Myers Board of Trade 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 75 

The Key to the Everglades, has been very appropriately 
given to West Palm Beach, as the canal connecting this 
city by water with Lake Okeechobee, will be the shortest 
route of any yet contemplated. 

One of the most unique towns to visit while in Florida 
is Ruskin. The great broad plan of Euskin lies in the 
co-operative idea, and in this day in time when women 
are forging ahead in all lines, Euskin, Fla., is a place 
that will be watched with interest. A resident writing 
of it says : " There is a new kind of town sprung up, a 
town of progressive women, of women of the new time, 
enlightened, awake, alert. Women who recognize and 
accept the fraternity of the sexes, the brotherhood of 
men and women in its largest, finest sense. 

" Our ' woman's town ' is not a town of women alone. 
It is a town in which men and women share alike the 
burdens and responsibilities, the pleasures and benefits, 
of the city government. We offer it as a ' woman's 
town ' because it offers exceptional opportunities for 
women who feel they have reached that state of intel- 
ligence and maturity which calls for the broadest pos- 
sible exercise of the social faculties. 

" Euskin, Florida, is the one town that we know of, 
organized and conducted on this line. 

" Now as to the actual part the women play in the 
affairs of Euskin : The postmaster is a woman ; the 
physician and surgeon is a woman; the superintendent 
of the Sunday-school is a woman, as are the majority of 
the teachers. The associate president of the college and 
five of the teachers are women. In order to protect the 
morals of the youth of Euskin, and to thus aid in the 
physical and mental development, woman's guiding 
hand is seen in the provisions which every deed con- 
tains, that no intoxicating liquors or cigarettes shall 
ever be sold, manufactured or given away on any of the 



76 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

Eiiskin lands. Florida soil, once it is cleared and 
plowed, is easily worked, and the women of Ruskin are 
taking up farming enthusiastically, as was evidenced by 
the Farmers' Institute held recently at Assembly Hall, 
under the auspices of the State Agricultural College, 
and this year as much of the work on the college farm 
has been done by the girls as by the boys, and here and 
there over the tract we may see the women at work, 
several of the farm tracts being under their entire 
control. 

" To secure freedom and comfort while at work, the 
student girls adopt the bloomer and middy blouse 
costume. The advantages of this apparel being self- 
evident, it is not long before many of the women of 
Euskin were wearing the costume. These suits are 
bound to win approval when the immense advantage 
they have over trailing skirts, for practical purposes, is 
recognized. And the women of Ruskin are practical, 
if they are anything. 

" Woman, at Ruskin, has surely approached nearer 
to the full exercise of her rights as a citizen as the 
center of the home, than in any community we know 
of. In home, in school, in public duty, in comradship, 
she takes her rightful and desired place. It is no 
longer an experiment." 

The educational feature of Ruskin is interesting also. 
Ruskin College is located there. Ruskin College was 
named for John Ruskin, the great English advocate of 
Industrial Education, and the wedding of Art to 
Industry. 

It began its work at Trenton, Mo., in 1900— the year 
in which John Ruskin, as to this life, ended his. 

It was moved to Glen Ellyn, 111., a suburb of Chicago, 
in 1903, and in order to have larger accommodations. 

In 1906 the $100,000.00 building which it has 




Specimen Orange Tree 



Courtesy J. B. Chapline, Jr., 

Sarasota, 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 77 

occupied was struck by lightning and destroyed with all 
the college library, furniture and equipment. 

In 1907 its founders acquired a 13,000-acre tract of 
land at what is now Ruskin, Florida, about twenty miles 
south of Tampa, and began to provide for its rebuilding. 

In 1909 it was made the Educational Center of 
Euskin Colony. 

Green Cove Springs, the home of the Florida Military 
Academy, is most beautifully situated on the St. Johns 
Eiver, 30 miles south of Jacksonville. It is visited by 
hundreds of tourists each year. A great interest centers 
around the Military Academy. Their motto is " Fel- 
lowship," as expressed by James Whitcomb Riley : 

*' When a man ain't got a cent, an' he's feeling kind of 

blue. 
An' the clouds hang dark and heavy, an' won't let the 

sunshine through. 
It's a great thing, my brethren, for a feller just to 

lay 
His hand upon your shoulder in a friendly sort of way ! 
It makes a man feel queerish; it makes the tear-drops 

start. 
An' you sort o' feel a flutter in the region of the heart ; 
You can't look up and meet his eyes; you don't know 

what to say 
When his hand is on your shoulder in a friendly sort of 

way. 
the world's a curious compound, with its honey and 

its gall. 
With its care and bitter crosses, but a good world after 

all, 
An' a good God must have made it — leastwise, that is 

what I say. 
When a hand is on your shoulder in a friendly sort of 

way." 



78 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HISTOEICAL FLOKIDA. 

Pioneering is past but the stories of the pioneer 
days are always of interest to the traveler or resident 
who grows to love Florida. 

The past of Florida but lives in printed words, — it is 
sad to relate not many of those — and yet it would seem 
that of this romantic land there would be volumes 
written and preserved. Strange to say there is, as yet, 
no place in Florida where documentary and other 
material bearing upon the history of the state can be 
obtained for reference or study. In northern libraries 
are collections of documents and letters concerning 
McGillvray, that Grand Chief, statesman, diplomat, and 
other important personages. McGillvray's history is 
touched upon most interestingly by Richard L. Camp- 
bell in his Historical Sketches of Colonial Florida. 
He tells us that McGillvray was educated at Charleston 
and in the year 1776, at the age of 30, when he had 
been away from his people for sixteen years, he re- 
turned to them, an educated man. 

He is hardly well within the nation before a grand 
council is called at Coweta, on the Chattahoochee, over 
which he was to preside and formally assume the 
hegemony of the Ho-Tal-gee. 

One of the most striking powers which McGillvray 




Ft. Marion 
Courtesy St. Augfustine Board of Trade. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 79 

possessed, was his ability to win and retain the child- 
like confidence of his people and thereby exercise bound- 
less control over them. His ambition was to save and 
civilize his people. Much more of intense interest is 
given about this grand chieftain. That such a man 
should bend to his will in the paths of peace a numerous 
population of warlike savages, to whom the war-whoop 
was music, and scalping the most inviting pastime, is a 
domination over brute instincts of which history con- 
tains very few examples. 

General Washington became President of the United 
States in 1789, just at the time troubles were existing 
between the Georgians and the Creeks. He sent an 
agent to the Creek Nation, in the person of Colonel 
Marius Willet, to induce McGillvray to visit him and 
perhaps in the personal interview some plan of concilia- 
tion could be formed and avert the impending war. 
McGillwray in June, 1790, at the head of 30 of the 
principal chiefs, set out on their long journey mounted 
on horses. 

He was received with distinguished consideration at 
Richmond and Fredericksburg. Philadelphia honored 
him and his company with a three days' entertainment. 
Colonel Willet, who accompanied them, tells us that 
upon their landing in New York, the Tammany Society, 
in full regalia, received them, attended them to Con- 
gress Hall, and thence to the residence of General 
Washington. And then and there, were brought face to 
face the most remarkable white man and the most re- 
markable red man the western hemisphere had then 
produced. A treaty was speedily negotiated and ex- 
ecuted. McGillvray died on Feb. 17, 1793, at Pensacola 
while on a visit to William Patton. He was buried 
with Masonic honors, and it is said, in Patton's garden. 



80 FASCINATING I'LCKIDA. 

However, the body of this man rests, as his Creek 
brethren hmiented, " in the sands of the Seminoles." 
at Pensacola in a grave that cannot be identified. 

After the capture of Detroit, in August, 1812, the 
British formed the scheme of comfining the Indians on 
the western frontier of the United States in a line of 
warfare extending from the Lakes to the Gulf of 
Mexico. As their chief emissary to accomplish that end, 
they employed Tecumseh, the great Shawnee Chief, who 
in the fall of that year made his appearance amongst 
the Seminoles and Creeks. He at once began the work 
of exciting their hostility against the Americans, by 
every argument, art and device which his own savage 
shrewdness could suggest or the deliberate calculations 
of his British allies prompt. He addressed the Creek 
assemblies with the burning words of an impassioned 
oratory, to which his stately form and commanding 
presence gave additional force. He upbraided their 
disposition to adopt the speech, the dress, and habits of 
the white man, instead of cleaving to those of their 
forefathers. He persuaded them that it was degrading 
to an Indian warrior to follow the plow or to rely 
upon cattle and the fruits of the field for sustenance; 
that it was decreed by the Great Spirit that the country 
should go back to the forest and that the Indian should 
depend upon the chase for his food, as his forefathers 
had done. 

Superstition and necromancy, too, were successfully 
employed to enforce his teachings. A comet which 
appeared in the last days of September of that year, 
was pointed to as a sign placed in the heavens by the 
Great Spirit as a presage of wrath and destruction to 
the white man, and a promise of redemption to the 
Indian. He had the temerity, even, to foretell a great 




On the Caloosahatchie near Fort Demancl 
Courtesy Florida Grower, Tampa, 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 81 

natural phenomenon of which he was to be the proximate 
cause, as an evidence his mission was inspired. " When 
I reach Detroit I shall stamp my foot and the earth 
will tremble and rock," and strange to relate, at about 
the lapse of time the journey would consume, an earth- 
quake was felt throughout the Creek country, when 
from all sides came the cry of the awe-stricken Indians : 
" Tecumseh has reached Detroit and stamped his foot." ^ 

His mission divided the Creekes into two parties, 
of which by far the most numerous and warlike, was 
that which yielded to his seductions. To each of his 
converts he gave a red stick, as an emblem of war, and 
hence the hostile Creeks became known as " Eed Sticks." 

The first startling result of the alliance between the 
British and Indians, was the massacre of Fort Miras, 
which occurred in August, 1813, an event that sent a 
thrill of horror through every iVmerican hearrt. 

In the fall of 1817, a feeling of unrest and suspicion 
again seized upon the Indians, also the white settlers, 
induced by causes for which both parties were 
responsible. 

The first act of war, however, was the capture on 
Nov. 21st, of Towlton, a Seminole village above the 
Georgia line by an American force, under Colonel 
Twiggs. This proved the signal for Indian massacres. 
In March, 1818, General Jackson was ordered to the 
seat of war. He invaded East Florida, and in a 
campaign of six weeks crushed the Indians. 

Jackson having early in May closed his campaign 
against the East Florida Seminoles, and obtained 
evidence satisfactory to himself, that the Spanish officers 
at Pensacola were in sympathy with them, resolved to 

1 Pickett's History of Alaljama: Vol. ii. p. 246. Recopied from Camp- 
bell s Historical Sketches of Colonial Fla. 



83 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

march upon that town, and repeat the lesson which he 
had taught it in 1814. 

Hitherto Jackson's operations had been confined to 
the province of East Florida. On the 10th of May, 
1818, he began his invasion of West Florida by crossing 
the Appalachicola river at the Indian village of Ochesee. 
Thence he followed a trail which lead him over the 
natural bridge of the Chipola river — a bridge which it 
would be difficult for the wayfarer to observe, as it is 
formed by the streams quietly sinking into a lime-stone 
cavern, through which it again emerges within a dis- 
tance of half a mile. 

"Within a few hundred yards of the trail, and near 
the north side of the bridge, there is a cave one-fourth 
of a mile in length with many lateral grottoes, its roof 
pendant with glittering stalactites and its floor covered 
with lime-stones moulded in varied and eccentric forms. 
Panic-stricken with Jackson's campaign in East Florida, 
the Indians on the west of the Appalachicola river, 
when he began his westward march ; made this cave a 
place of refuge, and were there quietly concealed when 
his troops unconsciously marched over their subter- 
ranean retreat. 

His march westward, and south of the northern 
boundary of the province of West Florida, brought him 
to the Escambia Eiver, which having crossed, he reached 
the road that he had opened over the old trail in 1814, 
when he marched to Pensacola on a similar mission to 
that in wliich he was now engaged. 

Don Jose Masot, who was governor of West Florida, 
having received intelligence of Jackson's westward 
march and his design on Pensacola, sent him a written 
])rotest against his invasion, as an offence against the 
Spanish King, '* exhorting and requiring him to retire 




--^ai 



Old Ft. San Carlos 
Courtesy Pensacola Commercial Assn. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 83 

from the Province," threatening if he did not, to use 
force for his expulsion. This protest was delivered by 
a Spanish officer, on May 23rd, after Jackson had crossed 
the Escambia river and was within a few hours march 
of Pensacola. Notwithstanding Masot's threat, instead 
of advancing to meet the invader, he hastily retired with 
most of his troops to Fort San Carlos, leaving a few 
only at Pensacola under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Don Lui Piemas, for the purpose of making a 
show of resistance. 

Masot's protest, instead of retarding, seems to have 
accelerated Jackson's advance. In the afternoon of the 
same day on which it was received, the American army 
was in possession of Fort St. Michael and encampel 
around it. 

Jackson and his army also took Fort San Carlos. 

Mrs. Jackson was a domestic woman, and better 
satisfied to have her husband at home, than to see him 
in exalted stations requiring his absence from the 
Hermitage. In October they returned to Tennessee. 

On the third of March, 1822, congress established a 
territorial government for both the Floridas as one 
territory. The first governor under the territorial 
organization was W. P. Duval of Kentucky, who had 
represented a district of that state in congress, and who 
was the original of Washington Irving's Ealph Ring- 
wood. 

He resided, temporarily, in Pensacola, where the 
legislative council of thirteen appointed by the Presi- 
dent, held its first session. 

It had hardly begun its work, however, when the 
yellow fever breaking out compelled an adjournment to 
the Fifteen-mile house, where the Florida statutes of 
1823, were enacted. (All of the above information was 



84 PASCINATING FLORIDA. 

taken at random from the pages of Historical Sketches 
of Colonial Florida by Richard L. Campbell, the book 
kindly sent me by Pensacola Commercial Association — 
Author.) 

In the beginning of the book is given an interesting 
account of the discovery of Pensacola Bay by Panfilo 
de Narvaez, the visits of Maldonado, Capture of the 
Fleet of Hernando De Soto; a history of the first town 
of Pensacola, origin of name and many more prints 
of historical interest. 

^ One feels the charm of the graphic tales of Cabeza 
de Vaca narrating hair-breadth escapes, accounts of 
strange tribes and descriptions of animals and plants 
unheard of before, even while criticising the lack of 
clearness and evident exaggeration in some places. 

De Soto's expedition is very clearly and carefully 
given by his secretary, Roderigo Rangel, also by three 
others ; one being the official report of Biedma, one by a 
Portugese " The Gentleman of Elvas," also one by 
Garcilaso de la Vega. 

Theodore Irving in his Conquest of Florida, Grace 
King in De Soto and His Men in the Land of Florida, 
and Cunningham Graham in his Hernando De Soto 
have followed the romantic, picturesque narrative style 
of Garcilaso de la Vega, a descendant of the Incas of 
Peru, reproducing in delightful manner " anecdotes not 
the less credible because they were striking and ex- 
traordinary." 

Barnard Shipp finds the motive of his work in the 
march of De Soto and such historians as Grayacre, 
Pickett and Fairbanks have treated the theme. Fair- 

1 The Information as to books of Historic Interest is taken from a 
paper entitled " Florida as a Basis of Historic Litt^rature" prepared 
and read before the teachers traiuinij school at Tallahassee by Miss 
Carrie Brevard. 




The Anastasia Light House 
Courtesy St. Augustine Bd, of Trade 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 85 

banks tells the story maiuly from Spanish authorities 
in his history of St. Augustine, while in his History of 
Florida he treats with fullness the entire colonial period. 

On the French side we have Eibants, True and Whole 
Discoverie of Terra Florida, the letters of Landonniere, 
the simple and effecting narrative of Challenx the 
Carpenter and two narratives of De Gourge's expedition 
of revenge. 

On the Spanish side we count the annals of Barcia 
of Mendoza the chaplain of the expedition with the 
letter of Menendez himself. 

In the patient exhaustive study of these and many 
other sources, Francis Parkman made ready for writing 
his history of the Pioneer of France In the New World. 

For graphic literary treatment of the contest at 
Pensacola between Spaniards and French we value in- 
deed the works of historians of Louisiana. Grayacre, in 
" Thrilling Events of the War of Pensacola," finds a 
theme well suited to his picturesque style ; while Martin 
more soberly presents the facts as he found them. Here, 
too, we prize the work of one of Florida's own writers 
Judge Richard Campbell^ of Pensacola whose Historical 
Sketches cover the period of colonial days in West 
Florida. 

" During twenty years of English occupation, a num- 
ber of works on Florida Avere published, most of them 
seemingly written to encourage immigration. The 
authors, Forbes, Eomans, Eoberts and Stork, lay greater 
stress on the geography and natural history, which they 
touch lightly. Bertram came later, nor was he an 
historian; but in his travels we have most valuable 
information of the Florida of his time, of the people, and 
of their customs at a time that has passed into history. 

" From the time that Florida became a territory of 



86 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

the United States, the historian can find abundant 
material; yet few writers have felt impelled to the pro- 
duction of historic literature. A few books, of which 
Danby's Florida and Sewell's St. Augustine, are fair 
types, belong to this period. John Lee Williams, of 
interesting personality and varied talents, wrote his 
view of East Florida, and a History of the Territory. 
Yet the natural, rather than political history appeals to 
him. We would not be without his quaint, unconven- 
tional comments on historical events and conditions of 
his time ; but we find him most interesting in the journal 
recording his observations while seeking a suitable site 
for the capital of the territor)^ For here we see the 
close observation, the familiarity with nature's moods 
and expressions, the love of the outdoor life ; that places 
this official report in a class of its own. For Williams 
was mentally akin to Audubon whose friend he was. 

The war with the Indians has produced literature of 
such varying character as Sprague's work, which is 
mainly a compilation of army reports and Indian 
" talks," to the passionate plea for the red man of Coe's 
Eed Patriots, and Gidding's Exiles. 

Murat, the exiled prince who lived in Florida during 
almost the entire territorial period, in his book, America 
and Americans, describes the organization of a territory 
as he had observed it, writes of the Indians as he had 
seen them, and of the other people of the territory also 
as he knew them. Would you know how this nephew of 
Napoleon wrote of the militia of the territory ? " These 
hardy horsemen think nothing of fatigue, in fact, laugh 
at it, while to them a campaign seems an agreeable party 
of pleasure. They have a thorough knowledge of the 
intricacies of the woods, can find their ways by means of 
the sun, and observing the barks of the trees; following 




Tamarund Tree 
Courtesy Mrs. Porter Palmer 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 87 

the tract of an enemy or of a stag with incredible 
sagacity, assisted by his dogs — for each man has his 
favorite. They have no regular uniform; each man 
arrives at his post Just as he happens to be dressed 
(his clothes), made up entirely by his wife from the 
cotton which he himself has planted. A hat made of 
plaited palm leaves, shades his face bronzed by the sun, 
or maybe by the fumes of his pipe. An otter skin, 
artistically folded and sewed, contains his ammunition, 
his necessaries for kindling a fire, together with his little 
stock of tobacco. A wallet attached to his saddle bow 
contained the provisions both for himself and horse. 
The animal is not less hardy than his master. I have 
myself made such a campaign with such a troop amount- 
ing to 300 men. They were commanded by a general of 
brigade. I set out as his aide-de-camp, myself forming 
his whole stajff. I returned Colonel of a regiment, and 
few periods of my life have aSorded me such agreeable 
reminiscences." 

For a picture of the social life of the territory and of 
the state in its earlier days, we must thank Mrs. Long, 
who wrote with graphic pen of a past that she had 
known and loved so well, and of those old gatherings 
of noted men and women. She introduces us to the 
builders of the commonwealth, promoters of indiLstry, 
makers of laws, Indian fighters, to Indians themselves, 
the old-time servants, to the pioneers. How real the 
days are filled with the races, the tournaments, the balls, 
political meetings, country visits, barbecues, dinners, 
hunts, Indian campaigns. Duels are fought; there are 
Indian massacres — so the picture has its shadows. We 
gather around the old stage coach that has brought the 
mail, and we are present at the council in the little log 
house that served at first for a capitol. Besides this 



88 FASCIXATING FLOEIDz\. 

book, Florida Breezes, Mrs. Long has written and pub- 
lished a number of historical articles that are well 
known. She has also written a history of Florida, which 
remains unpublished. It is the result of years of thought 
and work and is her last loving labor in this field. 

Material is abundant for treatment of Florida's 
history since her admission to statehood; yet few have 
been interested in its importance. Among those few we 
think of Gov. Fleming, whose Memoirs of Florida is his 
contribution to our library of history, and who was so 
deeply interested in the work of the Florida Historical 
Society, of which he was president. 

Our Indian mounds have been so thoroughly explored 
by scientific investigators and unscientific hunters, that 
comparatively few remain untouched. In consequence 
we have the valuable reports and intrepretation of 
Brinton, of Douglas, of Gushing and of Moore. Large 
and interesting collections of relics taken from our 
mounds, illustrating the methods of making war, of 
hunting, of fishing, illustrating decorative art and re- 
ligious symbolism, are to be seen and studied in measure 
at Washington, Philadelphia, New York and other cities 
— even in a city of Norway. But here in Florida we 
have no museum where a large and representative collec- 
tion of these relics may be studied. 

" Has any state a history better worth the study than 
our own ? Where may we find more fascinating romance, 
more thrilling adventure than in the annals of our 
long colonial period ? Where may we find more resolute 
spirit, more hardy manhood than in the pioneer life of 
our territory? Where may we find greater valor, where 
nobler civic service than in the lives of those who built 
our commonwealth, who fought and died, or fought and 
lived, for principle and duty ? " 







Gum Arabic Tree 
Courtesy Mrs. Porter Palmer 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 89 

I wish it were possible to have Miss Brevard's interest- 
ing paper printed in pamphlet form and scattered broad- 
cast over the State, for I assure my readers that a collec- 
tion of historical works such as she has painstakingly 
described together with Mrs. Minnie Moore-Wilson's 
book on the Seminoles of Florida, Senator Fletcher's 
valuable Senate Report No. 89, the Dimock's " Florida 
Enchantment," volumes added as they come out, and 
Indian relics from mounds, etc., preserved it would be 
of world interest. 

In 1847 Buckingham Smith, an eminent engineer, 
was appointed by Congress to procure authentic in- 
formation regarding the practicability of draining the 
Everglades. His reports are interesting reading. 

Osceola was one of the greatest heroes in the Indian 
wars, and would be called great in any nation or time. 
He was a very active youth excelling in all athletic 
exercises and in the chase; of medium height and very 
handsome, ' his wonderful eyes, stern and flashing in 
excitement, yet had a smile that would become the face 
of the most refined female ! ' He loved dress, and his 
crowning ornament was a plume of three ostrich 
feathers. During this half century of war, the only 
alternative given the Seminole, was banishment or ex- 
termination, and at ' a talk at Ft. King ' upon Osceola's 
refusal to be sent to Indian Territory, he was arrested 
and put in irons, a deadly insult to the eagle spirit, 
and from that time he lost hope of the white man's 
friendship and became a patriot leader. But he sought 
to fight honorably, discouraging border depredations 
and hurt to women and children. He said : ' It is not 
upon them we make war and draw the scalping knife; 
it is upon men; let us act like men.' 

" ' Our knowledge of Osceola's chivalrous nature, 



90 FASCIXATING FLOEIDA. 

leaves little room for doubt that so long as he re- 
mained head war chief his powerful influence would 
have been exerted, had the policy of our Government 
been different, to promote peace and amity between 
the race — but the white man would not have it so.' 
The story of his capture by treachery when trusting to 
the flag of truce, his imprisonment in Ft. Marion, St. 
Augustine; later in Ft. Moultrie, Charleston, and his 
death in the latter, is a story to touch the coldest heart. 
The legend on a marble slab over his grave proclaims 
him ' Patriot and Warrior.' His fame is well-earned ; 
not for that inhuman cruelty such as characterized 
most of our Western tribes, but for true patriotism 
and determined effort, against the combined armies of 
a great and powerful nation, in one of the most re- 
markable struggles known to history." 

Florida's development during the last few years and 
the years to come, will go down in history as a 
phenomenal occurrence. That great reclamation proj- 
ect can never be duplicated for where is there such 
another proposition as The Everglades? 

The Panama Canal with its undeniable benefit to 
the State of Florida is, and always will be, an item of 
intense interest to thoughtful minds. Col. Brown of 
Tampa in speaking of his trip mentions the construc- 
tion of the Panama Canal and the completion of the 
Over Sea extension of the Florida East Coast Eailroad 
as the two greatest engineering feats of the twentieth 
century. Speaking of his trip Col. Brown said : 
" Personally, I appreciate the trip for its having 
served to make me better acquainted with that wonder- 
ful engineer. Colonel Goethals, a prince of good fel- 
lows, considerate of his fellowman, thorough in his 
work and at all times a humanitarian. He has a 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 91 

bright future and this country owes him a debt of 
gratitude that it will pay^ if in no other way, than as 
going down in history recognized as one of the greatest 
constructive geniuses of all time." 

Col. Brown also said : " Particularly would I enjoin 
Floridians, in search of a profitable trip from home, 
to go to this government-controlled strip, ten miles 
wide, extending the forty-nine miles of the entire 
isthmus width; for it is going to mean mvich to the 
whole world, but more to Florida than to any other 
one state or section." 

The other stupendous engineering feat that will go 
down in history is the railroad built from the main- 
land to Key West a distance of 130 miles, bridging 
long stretches of open sea, with an equal distance 
built upon submerged swamps and shallows. This 
undertaking is a monument to the enterprise of Henry 
M. Flagler. 

He who has not stood at one end of Knight's Key 
viaduct and tried in vain to see the other end lost in 
the horizon miles away, cannot comprehend fully what 
has been achieved. 

No one knows the extent of sufferings and priva- 
tions encountered by the engineers and workmen who 
were chosen to put this great venture through. The 
words of the first appointed engineer, Mr. J. C. 
Meredith, are a revelation to some who did not realize 
the hazardous work involved. He said : " No man has 
any business being connected with this work who can't 
stand grief." 

Even the elements seemed to conspire against them 
for several times tropical storms destroyed the work 
they had laboriously done, but fearlessly these brave, 
dauntless engineers and workmen attacked the huge 



92 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

proposition again. W. J, Krome, who succeeded Mr. 
Meredith as constructing engineer said : " We have put 
things through because we had to." 

In a time of great distress over delays caused by 
storms Mr. Flagler's order " Go ahead " was obeyed 
and the engineers went ahead, leading and directing 
four thousand men to the accomplishment of the work. 
The completion of the work came as a birthday present 
to Mr. Flagler, Jan. 22, 1912. 

In an article in the New York Sun the subject of 
which is " Henry M. Flagler's dream has been realized," 
the writer says : " The completion of the Key West 
extension this year and month has been the goal and 
ambition of every man on the line. The animating 
spirit and impulse which pushed every man to the 
limit of his strength and ability has been that it was 
' for Mr. Flagler ' that he might not be disappointed. 
It has been an inspiration to all from water boy to 
engineer that has kept them rushing day and night for 
all these months, with a loyalty like that of sons for 
their father." 

Not only is Mr. Flagler noted for the line of over- 
sea railways but for many magnificent hotels he owns. 
The Eoyal Poinciana at West Palm Beach contains 
1,362 rooms and can accommodate 2,000 guests — , while 
the Breakers contains 500 rooms and can accommodate 
1,000 guests. 

People from all parts of the world know of and have 
visited these magnificent hotels. Both are in full view 
of the Atlantic. There is also the Eoyal Palms Hotel 
at Miami. 

In the years to come, as now, such men as Hon. 
Duncan U. Fletcher, senior United States Senator from 
Florida, and Hon. Stephen M. Sparkman, chairman of 




A Natural Florida Haw Road 
Courtesy Florida Grower Tampa. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 93 

tlie famous Elvers and Harbors Committee will be re- 
membered for the good they have done for their State. 

Florida's Governors have been instrumental in bring- 
ing forward and advancing the advantages of the State 
to a great degree. 

Governor Broward's great scheme of reclaiming for 
agricultural uses the fertile muck lands which have for 
ages laid under water, first attracted world-wide atten- 
tion by the very magnitude of the proposition. 

Governor Gilcrist was known far and wide for his 
ready command of information on any subject pertain- 
ing to the -welfare of his State. It is said that Governor 
Gilchrist's best claim to fame is that his name will be 
inseparably connected with the inauguration of a move- 
ment to give Florida courts a simpler and less expensive 
method of legal procedure. This movement was not 
brought to completion under his administration but will 
no doubt be handled to a satisfactory^ fruition by 
Governor Park M. Trammell, who is no less interested 
in this great state than his notable predecessor. 

Hon. William J. Bryan, that Peerless Leader, with 
his estimable wife, has a winter home in Miami, and 
although the spell of Florida has but touched him as 
yet, we are glad that he has decided to give up the cold 
of Nebraska and abide in this land of mild climate, 
flowers, and fruits. 

In the words of a loyal Jacksonville supporter " Wel- 
come to Florida, Mr. Bryan! Thrice welcome to the 
Land of Flowers ! May you find what Ponce de Leon 
sought in vain ; and may you become so enamored of 
this goodly land that you will altogether eschew the 
aforesaid joys of Nebraska and find abundant happiness 
and contentment among the other exotic things with 
which our soil and climate deal so kindly ! 



94 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

" Just why Charles Willis Ward has decided to come 
to Florida is interesting — not only to the people of the 
Gulf Coast, but to the people of an entire continent. 
Having made millions of dollars, he is through with the 
active life of a successful business man and has taken 
up the equally arduous task of thoroughly enjoying him- 
self. He couldn't do it by idling. His entire life's 
training precludes it. But he can enjoy himself by 
working out his hobby which is the preservation or the 
conservation of the game bird supply of America so that 
generations to come will not suffer because of denuded 
forest and stream. 

" There is no maudlin sentiment about this hobby of 
Mr. Ward's. He has outlined a business proposition. 
He figures that a few million birds breeding on the 
reserves in Canada and far northern waters through 
the short summer, wending their way by easy stages 
from refuge to refuge along the two great lines of 
flight along the Mississippi and the Atlantic Coast, with 
a few reserves along the smaller line of flight along the 
Pacific, and watering grounds on the Gulf where the 
birds will be protected in their homes during their sta.y 
in the fSouth, will insure forever a great wild meat 
supply for the hunters throughout the western hemi- 
sphere. 

" He started by assisting E. A. Mcllhenny, of 
Louisiana, to establish the Ward Mcllhenny refuge 
which was dedicated to the State. That cost a great 
pile of money but Ward never flinched. Then the two 
established alongside a big refuge which they main- 
tained. Later Marsh Island, a nearby rookery, was pur- 
chased by Mrs. Russell Sage, after the movement started 
by Ward and Mcllhenny liad been forcefully brought to 
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The Palms 
Emperor Bamboo on Right 
Courtesy J. B. Chapline, Jr. Sarasota. 



FASCIXATIXG FLORIDA. 95 

mouth of the Mississippi, one of the termini of the great 
fiight which sweep down through the middle of the 
continent. 

" To-day's aim of Mr. Ward is to arouse public senti- 
ment to such a pitch that his hobby will become one of 
the great movements of conservation of the western 
hemisphere. To further the movement he has built up 
a magazine, The Illustrated Outdoor World, and pur- 
chased Recreation, which he has merged with the Out- 
door World. The entire purpose of this great magazine, 
one of the most beautifully designed published in 
America, is to further the game bird refuge movement." 

" Picturesque Florida proved the lodestone which 
drew another noted man to make his winter home here. 
This is Col. Henry Watterson, the veteran editor of the 
Louisville Courier-Journal, and known throughout the 
world, wherever newspapers are read, by reputation at 
least. In his own inimitable way. Col. Waterson has 
described the section of Florida where he lives. He 
says: 

" ' My old friend and business associate, Walter N, 
Haldeman, was a great hunter and fisherman. First 
and last he spent $500,000 upon a playground which 
he called Naples. This is on the West Coast of Florida, 
about eighty miles north of Key West, and, therefore, 
nearly 200 miles south of Tampa. In getting there we 
used to go by rail to Punta Gorda at the head of 
Charlotte Harbor, where we took a boat; but the 
Atlantic Coast Line was extended five or six years ago 
to Fort Myers, which is now our land terminus. At 
Fort Myers we took a boat down the Caloosahatchie 
River, via Punta Rassa to Naples, thirty miles below. 
The Haldeman estate, which still owns the property, 
has among other possessions a very handsome hunting 



96 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

lodge and several comfortable cottages, capable of enter- 
taining, perhaps, 100 people. Since Mr. Haldeman's 
death that lodge and its appendages have been opened to 
the public. The clientele, however, has been mainly 
Kentucky people with a few easterners who have found 
the place attractive. The hunting and fishing are virgin. 
We kill deer, turkey and quail in great abundance within 
one mile of the settlement. The oyster beds are inex- 
haustible and the oysters equal the best Bayou Cook or 
Lynn Haven product. This last winter I have lived 
upon pompano, Spanish mackerel and mangrove snapper, 
transferred immediately from the Gulf to the gridiron. 
The pompano feed on sand fleas, and I had only to 
throw out a hand seine to haul in a two-pound broiler, 
wrap him in a towel to keep him from kicking the 
stuffing out of me and carry him back to the cook. 
Indeed the whole region from Punta Gorda Eassa, and 
from Punta Rassa to Naples and Marco, and from Ft. 
Myers up and down the Caloosahatchie River, from 
Lake Okeechobee to Sanibel Island, is yet the greatest 
hunting region in the world.' " 

A place in the Hall of Fame between the statues of 
John Hanson of Maryland and Francis Willard of 
Illinois, has been assigned to a statue of a noted 
Floridian, Dr. Gorrie of Apalachicola, who was the 
inventor of that boon to humanity, artificial ice. 

Sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars of Jacksonville is 
doing this important work. 

When the tired brain and body of writers seek seclu- 
sion and rest they turn to Florida as their haven. Mrs. 
Myrtle Reed McCullough found rest, repose and artistic 
pleasure in Sara.sota; Sewe'.l Ford, author of the famous 
" Shorty McCabe " stories often seeks refuge on the 
West Coast where he can "' work away undisturbed by 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 97 

frivolous affairs;" Eleanor Hope often finds Tampa 
restful; and others of far fame have no doubt been 
lured to Florida by the climate and other attractions. 

Florida has, as yet, produced very few literary 
geniuses, native or othervs^ise — although there are a few 
wielders of that mighty weapon whose names will go 
down in the history of literature. 

Mrs. Luella Knott, wife of Hon. W. V. Knott, State 
Treasurer of Florida, writes delightful poetry. 

" The Passing of Melinda " by Birde Herndon 
Hansbrough is a sympathetically written story of a 
Florida cracker, having many touches of pretty descrip- 
tive matter. 

" By Sunlit Waters " is a story of Tampa by Thomas 
Shackleford and William De Hart. 

" The Quest of Sleep " and other poems have been 
written by a foremost Sarasota lawyer, G. F. Chapline, 
who, it is understood has a novel soon to be brought 
before the public. 

Eichard Harding Davis had a story in Scribner's 
entitled " Blood Will Tell," in which an incident of 
filibustering is told and in which the " Three Friends," 
the Tampa Bay, the Port Tampa docks, the Olivette, 
the Tampa cigar factories and other familiar " local 
color " items figure. Mr. Davis spent some time in 
Tampa during the mobilization of the Shafter army 
there and is familiar with the situation as it existed 
then. One of the illustrations shows the steamer 
" Olivette " landing at the Port Tampa dock. 

The well-known Eex Beach was once a resident of 
Tampa. He was educated at Rollias College, Winter 
Park, Fla. One wishes sometimes, even while enjoying 
enormously his stories of the colder climate, that he 



98 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

would occasionally turn retrospective pages and with his 
virile pen give us stories of his own fair land. 

Miss Fell, who with her family formerly lived near 
Kissimmee, has made the first attempt and successfully, 
to translate Russian plays. The plays are by Anton 
Tchezoff and are "Uncle Vauya," " Icanoff," "The 
Swan Song '' and " The Sea Gull." 

Madame Nordica, Sembrich, Sarah Bernhardt and 
many other celebrities have visited Florida and found it 
delightful. 

Florida ! 

" To those who know thee not, no words can paint ! 

And those who know thee, know all words are faint." 




The City Gates 
Courtesy St. Augustine Board of Trade. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 99 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE ANCIENT CITY. 

St, Augustine has the distiuction of being the first 
city in America settled by Europeans. 

" Selooe/' an Indian village, stood on the site of the 
present city, and when Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who 
founded the city of St. Augustine (Ciudad de San 
Augustin), saw the admirable situation he took posses- 
sion of the place in the name of Philip II., King of 
Spain, on the 8th day of September, 1565. Arriving on 
the coast the 28th day of August, the day dedicated to 
St. Augustine, he was minded to name the city in honor 
of that Latin father. 

The Spaniards named the river in front of the city 
the River of Dolphins, afterward called the Matanzas 
river. 

The city is laid out in the form of a parallelogram, the 
streets intersecting each other at right angles. They 
were built narrow to afford shade, varying from seven 
to twenty feet, reminding one of streets in many of the 
Mediterranean towns. These narrow little streets, with 
their foreign names and foreign faces, their overhang- 
ing balconies, and high garden walls, through whose 
open doors you catch a glimpse of tropical flowered 
gardens, lend a quaint characteristic to this old Florida 
town. 

Sir Francis Drake assaulted the town in 1586 and 



100 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

reduced half of it to ashes in reprisal for the killing of 
one of his men by the Spaniards. He found the fort, 
then a wooden structure, deserted. He found twelve 
brass cannon, and a treasure chest containing 2,000 
pounds sterling. 

General James Edward Oglethorpe, Governor of 
Georgia, besieged the city with a large force of soldiers 
and a great many pieces of artillery. The fort was in 
good condition and garrisoned with more than 700 men 
and 50 pieces of artillery. The besiegers erected one 
battery on Anastasia Island, called Poza, the remains 
of which can be seen to-day, and others not far distant, 
from which he fired upon the town and fort, the siege 
continued thirty -eight days ; but while the artillery drove 
the people from their dwellings into the fort, it made 
but little impression on that solid rampart. The marks 
of the shells can still be seen. On the 25th of June, a 
sortie was made from the castle against Fort Moosa, two 
miles north of the city, where a company of Highlanders, 
under Capt. John Mcintosh displayed great gallantry, 
but were taken prisoners. Finding his gTins unequal 
to the reduction of San Marco, then commanded by 
Governor Manuel Monteano, General Oglethorpe with- 
drew his forces. 

The English rule of about twenty years was a period 
of many improvements to the city. In 1763 Florida 
was ceded to England in exchange for Havana, wlien 
many of the Spanish residents left the city. The Eng- 
lish built what were called the King's Roads, one leading 
to New Smyrna, and the other the Jacksonville and 
bridged the San Sebastian river. 

In 1769 Dr. Turnbull, an Englishman, brought to 
New Smyrna a mixed colony of Minoreans, Italians, 
Greeks and natives of other Southern Europe countries 




Treasury Street — 7 feet wide 
Courtesy St. Aug. Bd. of Trade. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 101 

10 work on his indigo plantation, holding out deceptive 
allurements to them. They were treated with gross 
injustice and appealed to the government at St. Augus- 
time. They deserted New Smyrna and came to St. 
Augustine, where they were given protection and allot- 
ments of land, on which they .settled. They intermarried 
with the Spanish and English occupants and their 
descendants form a large proporation of the population 
of St. Augustine to-day. 

In 1821, by payment of five million dollars to Spain, 
Florida became a territory of the United States, and 
Gen. Andrew Jackson was its first governor. 

Indian, sea king, Spaniard, buccaneer, British invader, 
each in turn has scourged the town; but after the 
passing of each it has risen again better than before, so 
that in various ways the town has changed and improved 
its character. From the Indian village of " Selooe,'* 
through three centuries of battle and change to the 
quaint old town with its foreign airs, St. Augustine has 
become a fashionable winter resort whose great hotels, 
splendid in their architecture, surroundings and mag- 
nificent furnishings, have no equal in the world. 

In various ways the old town has improved and taken 
on a new appearance and character, both pleasing and 
captivating, still retaining its foreign air and indefinable 
charm which is sure to turn one's thoughts back to the 
" Ancient City." 

Near the present Fort Marion, at the northern ex- 
tremity of the old town, Menendez in 1565 built a fort 
of wood, octagon in shape, having the walls filled with 
earth, faced with logs of wood. This fort he is supposed 
to have named " San Juan de Finos." It was garrisoned 
with 200 men and mounted fourteen brass cannon. 

Fort Marion was probably begun in 1690. It is the 



103 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

only example of medieval fortification on this con- 
tinent, and was built from plans of Marechal de Vauban, 
the famous French engineer, and is a superb example 
illustrating the art of military engineering as developed 
at that time. This massive structure of coquina rock, 
with its curtains, bastions, moat, barbacan and glacis, 
covers, with its surrounding reservation, more than 
twenty-two acres. 

Surrounding the fort on its three land sides is an 
extensive mound or hill called the glacis. On the south- 
east side a bridge (formerly a drawbridge) leads across 
a part of the moat to the barbacan, which is a fortifica- 
tion, surrounded by the moat, directly in front of the 
sally-port, the entrance to the fort proper, which it is 
intended to protect. In the wall of the stairway of the 
barbacan are carved the Arms of Spain. A second 
bridge (part of which was originally a draw-bridge) 
leads from the barbacan across the moat to the sally- 
port. This was protected by a heavy barred door called 
the portcullis. 

Considered for years the strongest fortification in 
America, it glories in the military record of having never 
been captured. 

The coquina, of which the fort is constructed, is a 
superior stone for fortifications, as it receives and imbeds 
the shot and does not splinter. 

The moat, 40 feet wide, surrounding the fort was 
originally much deeper than now and had a cement floor 
and automatic tide gates that kept it full of water. 

From room No. 4 Coacoochee and Talmus Hadjo, two 
Seminole Indians, escaped by starving themselves so 
their emaciated bodies would go between the bars of th^ 
outer aperture of their prison, 






^ 

^ 






*ir^r 





Sisal Hemp Industry 
By courtesy of 

Sisal Hemp & Development Co. 

St. James City 



FASCINATIXG FLORIDA. 103 

The chapel is in the middle casement on the north 
side. 

Casement ISTo. 15, at the northeast corner, was the 
treasury, and in all probability the banking institution, 
if such it could be called, of the colony. 

The outer dungeon is thirty feet long on the west side, 
sixteen on the east, seventeen on the south, and twenty 
on the north. Nothing but a bare-walled, dark, dismal 
room. Opening into room No. 17 is a door six feet high 
and two feet, four inches wide, the ceiling of the room 
caved in by the weight of a gun carriage on the terreplein 
above, in the year 1839, and lead to the discovery of 
these dungeons. This room is five feet wide at the east 
end, seven feet at the west end, and is twenty-eight feet 
long and fifteen feet high. It had at one time a second 
story, as remains of beams in the walls now indicate. 

The entrance to the inner dungeon (No. 18) leads 
through an aperture but thirty inches high and three 
feet wide. This room has an arched ceiling and is 
twenty feet long, thirteen feet wide and seven feet high. 
It was in this room that the iron cages and human bones 
are said to have been found from which legends and tales 
of cruelty have been evolved, but which are unsupported 
by any reliable data. 

The terreplein commands an excellent view of the 
harbor and town. At the corner of the northeast bastion 
is the watch tower, from which the view is very fine. 
At the corners of the other three bastions are sentry 
boxes overhanging the wall. 

In the moat on the east side is the hot-shot furnace 
built in 1844, and in the walls of the north and south 
bastions, flanking the east curtain, are marks of bullets 
made in executing prisoners condemned to be shot. 

The City Gates are the only conspicuous relic of the 



104 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

elaborate system of fortifications once surrounding and 
defending St. Augustine. The present city gates were 
built about 1804. They consist of two square pillars 
of coquina rock, 20 feet in height, and ten feet thick, 
surrounded with Moorish capitals, on the inner or 
town side of which are built sentry boxes of the same 
material and constructed with dome-like roofs. Port- 
holes extend from within to the outer wall. 

Flanking the pillars to the east and west are walls 
30 feet in length and 10 feet thick. They originally 
had banquettes, or raised platforms, on the inner side 
for use of soldiers with small arms. 

The space between the pillars is 12 feet and was 
originally protected with heavy, iron-bound wooden 
doors or gates, and the approach was by way of a draw- 
bridge over the moat or ditch. The present stone ap- 
proach is modern. 

Extending from this now ancient gateway, both to 
the east, and connecting with the moat of Fort San 
Marco, and to the west to San Sebastian river, were 
lines of fortifications protected at intervals by redoubts 
and batteries and a ditch which could be flooded at 
high tide. 

More than five years were spent in building the 
famous Cathedral. It is a massive building of the 
Spanish type and was completed in August, 1797. 

The grand old monument stood for nearly a century, 
and was partially burned in the conflagration of 1887. 

The great fire of 1887 destroyed everything but the 
walls of the old Cathedral, and in rebuilding these 
were strengthened and utilized. 

The old Cathedral was built at a cost of $16,650. 
Its windows are high and narrow. The belfry was of 
Moorish type and contained a chime of four bells, 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 105 

placed in separate niches, one above and three in a 
horizontal line. Below these was the clock, the scheme 
being the form of a cross. One of the bells, the oldest 
in the country, bears the following inscription : 
"Sancte Joseph, Ora pro Nobis, D. 1689." The 
smallest bell was placed in the upper niche. It was 
the gift of Don Geronimo Alvarez, an alcalde, to the 
church. All of these bells were rehung when the front 
wall of the Cathedral was strengthened after the fire, 
but they are never rung now. 

A painting, representing the first mass in St. 
Augustine, was destroyed in the fire. It was highly 
prized and desperate efforts were made to save it. 

The front wall was but little changed in rebuilding 
the Cathedral. 

The lofty tower, which lends such an imposing ap- 
pearance to the church, is original. The plan of the 
old Cathedral is followed only in the church proper. 
The building cost about $80,000 of which Mr. H. M. 
Flagler donated a large portion. The late Bishop 
Moore raised large sums for the rebuilding of the 
church. 

Two fine side altars, one dedicated to the Blessed 
Virgin and one to St. Joseph, were purchased prior to 
the main altar. Both are of fine Carrara marble, and 
each cost $2,800. They were designed by Mr. Kenwick, 
of New York, and built by Drady Brothers, of the same 
city. 

The stations of the cross in the new Cathedral are 
copies of the famous Diaz Overbeck paintings in the 
Pauling chapel of the Vatican at Eome. 

The organ is a magnificent instrument. It was built 
by Pincher Brothers, of New Orleans, and cost $5,000, 

The Cathedral interior is spacious and lofty, the 



106 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

floor is tiled and the ceiling hard finished pine. Its 
capacity is probably about 2,000, 

The church is in the form of a cross, the two wings 
having a seating capacity of about 400. 

The Memorial Presbyterian Church is considered the 
finest church edifice in Florida. It was completed 
March 16, 1890, and dedicated in memory of Mr. 
Flagler's daughter, Mrs. Louise Flagler Benedict, who 
died while on her way South. 

The first sea-wall was begun in 1690 by Governor 
Diego de Quiorza y Dosada, and extended from the 
fort to a point opposite the plaza. 

The present sea-wall was built by the United States 
government in 1835-1842 at an expense of $100,000. 
It is three-quarters of a mile in length, extending from 
the fort to the barracks. 

The outer face is ten feet high and the granite cop- 
ing is three feet wide. At intervals there are granite 
steps descending to boat landings. 

The Plaza, or more properly Plaza de la Con- 
stitucion, so called from the monument standing in 
the center of the west end, erected by the Spaniards in 
1813 — a white stuccoed coquina pyramid, twenty feet 
in height, surmounted by a cannon ball, and resting 
on a stone pedestal. It was erected under orders of 
Don Geronimo Alvarez, Alcalde, to commemorate the 
Spanish constitution. 

The Confederate monument, erected by the Ladies' 
Memorial Society in 1880, in memory of the St. 
Augustine soldiers lost in the late war, has, in addition 
to the names of the soldiers, the following inscription : 
" Our dead. Erected by the Ladies' Memorial Associa- 
tion, of St. Augustine, Florida, A. D. 1872." In 
memoriam. Our loved ones who gave their lives in 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 107 

the service of the Confederate States." These inscrip- 
tions are on the east and west sides of the monument. 
On the south side are the lines : " They died far from 
the home tliat gave them birth ; " and on the side fac- 
ing the north : " They have crossed the river and rest 
under the shade of the trees." 

The old market at the east end of the Plaza was 
built in 1840, and after being destroyed by fire in 
1887, was rebuilt on its original plan. It is a curious 
bit of architecture, and was intended as a general 
market for the townspeople. Whether or not any 
slaves were ever sold here is a question, and the name 
" Old Slave Market " is an unwarranted title. 

State Arsenal, formerly United States Barracks, and 
originally a Franciscan Monastery, is located in the 
southern part of the city, on Marine street. 

The walls of this famous building are probably the 
most ancient of any in the city, as some time prior 
to 1586 the Franciscans established a convent on this 
site, and later, in 1763, when the place was ceded to 
Great Britain, it was turned into a barrack. Under 
the Government of the United States the buildings 
have been greatly improved and changed in appearance. 

The Military Cemetery is just south of the Barracks. 
It contains three coquina pyramids, covered with 
stucco, set up in memory of Major Francis L. Dade and 
his 107 soldiers, who were massacred December 28, 
1835, while on their way from Fort Brooke, at Tampa, 
to join General Duncan L. Clinch, on the Withlacoochee 
river. 

The inscriptions read : " Sacred to the memory of 
the ofificers and soldiers killed in battle and died in 
service during the Florida war." " This monument 
has been erected in token of respectful and affectionate 



108 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

remembrance by their comrades of all grades, and is 
committed to the care and preservation of the garrison 
of St. Augustine." 

The Spanish Administration Building is now the 
general post-office, on St, George Street, opposite the 
west end of the Plaza, and was at one time called 
" The Palace." 

The Public Library is at the corner of Hospital 
street and Artillery Lane; it is an ancient coquina 
building of Spanish architecture. At the rear is a 
quaint corridor. This building has been extensively 
repaired, but not changed in any way from its original 
arrangement. This building was formerly known as 
the Governor's palace or residence the government 
house facing the Plaza being the place of administra- 
tion. 

The building was presented to the free public 
library by John L. Wilson and his wife, Frances L. 
"Vyilson. 

Spanish Cemetery, on south side of Ocean street, 
some distance from the City Gates, contains old tombs 
and ruins of the first chapel built in St. Augustine. 
It was in this cliapel that Father Corpa, a Franciscan, 
was murdered while at prayer, by one of his Indian 
converts, whom he had publicly rebuked. 

Extending from the inlet in front of the city to 
Matanzas inlet, 'eighteen miles to the south, is the 
island of St. Anastasia. 

It is here the light-house is situated, a round tower 
165 feet in height that co.st the United States $100,- 
000. The lantern which flashes the light at intervals 
of three minutes, throws its rays 19 miles out to sea. 
It is technically classed as a first order light and is a 
splendid lamp, and cost $16,000. 








A Happy Deer Himter 



FASCIXATIJ^G FLORIDA. 10« 

This light-house was built in 1872-3, and takes the 
place of the old Spanish light-house, the coquina ruins 
of which are -to be seen on the shore a short distance 
to the northeast. 

The old light-house was built as a watch tower, and 
replaced a wooden scaffolding raised by the first settlers 
to watch for friend and foe, approaching the town. It 
was the scaffolding that attracted Drake to the inlet 
and the city in 1586. 

When Oglethorpe attacked the town in 1742 he 
landed his forces at this point, where there was a watch 
tower constructed of coquina. Shortly after Florida 
became the property of the United States this old 
coquina tower was repaired and rebuilt into a liglit- 
house. 

On this island are the coquina quarries, a stone 
formed of a soft collection of shells, sand, and shell 
fragments of variegated colors, firmly cemented to- 
gether by action of rain water percolating the mass 
and partly dissolving the lime substance of the shell. 

This stone is easily quarried and hardens on ex- 
posure to the sun and air. It is of this stone that Fort 
Marion, the City Gates, the Seawall and the old houses 
of the town are constructed. 

On every hand the visitor finds some relic of a 
bygone age to rivet his attention. The history of the 
St. Augustine, cradled in romance, has a fascination 
that never tires. Poets sing and artists portray the 
charms of old St. Augustine. 

" Slumbering through the centuries amid its orange 
groves and flowering gardens, St. Augustine was 
awakened a quarter of a century ago to new life. 
Direct railroad connection with Jacksonville supplanted 
the picturesque, if somewhat tedious trip via Tocoi and 



110 FASCINATING- FLOEIDA. 

the St. Johns river. The life-giving climate, and 
natural beauty of the place came into prominence im- 
mediately after the old town was rendered accessible 
to the outside world and the few hundred pioneer 
winter visitors were followed by thousands. Mr. 
Henry M. Flagler came on the scene shortly after the 
completion of the railroad to Jacksonville and invested 
millions in beautifying the city and building his 
magnificent hotels, which have become world re- 
nowned." 

One is bewildered with the mixture of old and 
modern magnificence. On a block of old Charlotte 
Street is found buildings that were crumbling with age 
when New York City was in its infancy. On St. George 
Street is found Dodge's Old House, claimed to be the 
oldest in the United States. Treasury Street is the 
narrowest in the city, being only seven feet wide. Dr. 
Vedder's old Museum is on the corner of Treasury & 
Bay Streets. From the pleasing sight of these old land 
marks one turns in fascination to the grandest hotel in 
the South, Ponce De Leon — then back again to com- 
pare it in fancy with the Old Fatio Hotel on Hospital 
Street which was the leading hotel of St. Augustine a 
century ago. 

" Fronting the beautiful Matanzas bay, with the San 
Sebastian Eiver bounding the City on the west and the 
tumbling billows of the broad Atlantic chasing each 
other to the beach a mile distant to the east, St. 
Augustine is rich indeed in sunlit waters, but nature 
has been improved upon and another waterway has been 
added by man. The Florida Coast Line Canal, an 
inland waterway, paralleling the ocean coast, now 
stretches from the St. Johns River to Biseayne Bay, a 
distance of 400 miles. This water course opens a safe 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. Ill 

route for the frailest craft almost the entire length of 
the East Coast of Florida, and at |)resent St. Augustine 
is the northern terminus. Work on the final cut, which 
will bring Jacksonville in communication with the 
lower East Coast, is now almost completed and at high 
water, vessels of three and a half feet draught can 
reach the St. Johns through the canal. 

" The cut below St. Augustine, connecting Matanzas 
bay with the Halifax river and opening a continuous 
waterway from St. Augustine to Key West is also being 
completed, three dredges being at work on that division. 
While the canal has not yet been opened to traffic, 
scores of small pleasure yachts from Northern ports 
were attracted by the knowledge that the trip was 
feasible, and this winter a continual procession of craft 
of this character has been noted on the canal, starting 
from St. Augustine. It is not surprising that this trip 
has become so popular, even before the canal has been 
formally opened, for the scenery along the route is of 
surpassing loveliness. Wonderful palm groves dot the 
banks and merge into forests of gigantic oaks and tower- 
ing magnolias. Tropical vegetation stretches along the 
banks on either side and the scene is rendered more 
effective by the great flocks of tropical birds which 
haunt the vicinity. Alligators are encountered all 
along the route and add to the tropical effect. 

" Before the formal opening of the canal dredges 
will deepen the shoals and cut away all projecting 
points, perfecting this beautiful waterway. 

" Not only farms, but homes and winter villas will 
stretch all along the shores of this scenic canal in the 
course of a year or two, as the beauty and other 
advantages render it ideal for permanent or season 
homes. The ocean is but a few hundred feet distant at 



112 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

many points, and a commanding view may be obtained 
of the beach and the waves beyond. Again, any point 
on the canal is within easy reach of some town or city. 
Boating, fishing and hunting are healthful recreations 
which the canal and connecting streams afford. Wild 
duck, turkey, snipe and a variety of water foul are 
abundant, while birds of rare plumage delight the eye. 
This is a tide water canal, and its waters fairly teem 
with fish. The tide flowing and ebbing twice daily 
removes all danger of sickness, which is another great 
advantage. Only those who have experienced the de- 
lights of a home on a salt water stream can fully ap- 
preciate what the canal offers. In this land of sunny 
skies and blue waters, embellished by luxuriant tropical 
and semi-tropical forests, life is a summer dream. 
Amid such environments outdoor life is enjoyed with a 
keen zest and work becomes pleasure. This canal is 
one of the great engineering feats of the age. It ia 
land-locked its entire distance and is tide-level from 
end to end. It means the development of a vast ter- 
ritory." 

Elaborate plans are being made for a Ponce De Leon 
celebration for April 1, 2, and 3rd, 1913, to com- 
memorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of 
Florida. 

William Henry Beers, editor and publisher of the 
Automobile and Good Eoads Advocate stated that " an 
occasion of this character takes place but once in a cen- 
tury and the landing of Ponce De Leon seems to me to be 
a matter that the whole state should take an interest in ; 
in fact it is an affair of national importance." 

The largest alligator farm in the world is located at 
South Beach and is still worthy of a visit — reached 
by trolley-car from St. Augustine. 




View of Royal" Palm Hotel 
Courtesy Fort Myers Board of Trade 



t'.;'^' 



FASCINATING FLORIDA, 113 

About fifty miles from St. Augustine, about mid- 
way from end to end of the picturesque Lake Crescent 
on the western side is Crescent City. For Florida, it 
is a city set on a hill. For two miles or more north and 
south through the city runs a ridge of pines and oaks 
the crest of which is more than fifty feet above the 
level of Lake Crescent. Gently sloping to the west are 
the banks of Lake Stella, deeper than Lake Crescent, 
but not so large. Between these two noble lakes lies 
the city with its streets and avenues of oaks; its hard 
roads; its comfortable homes and places of business. 
There is no more imique location in Florida. 

Crescent City is ten miles distant from the St. Johns 
Park Colony, which gives the startling exhibition of 
the success of the national advertising campaign by 
the Development Company. The entire tract was sold 
to over two thousand buyers in the almost incredil)ly 
short time of thirty-one days. 

A magazine called " The New South " and edited by 
Dr. Claude A. Wright, is published at St. Johns Park, 
and is a paper full of live Florida topics. 

It is a long jump from St. Johns Park to Jackson- 
ville, but my readers are touring the State of Florida 
with me on the magic carpet, as it were, and flit from 
place to place as our fancy dictates. Many will agree 
with me that one of the most unusually interesting 
things to be seen in Jacksonville is the Florida Ostrich 
Farm. That is one of the Florida treats, one that 
the tourist really misses. 

The people of Jacksonville say of their city that it is 
" The most beautiful, the most progressive, the best 
governed city in the South." 

The Jacksonville Public Library reports — " At the 
present time there is a wide and healthy interest in 



114 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

matters of public welfare — good government, a city 
beautiful, the best schools, conditions of the workers, 
charities — everything that means a better city. The 
Public Library receives almost hourly calls for litera- 
ture on these subjects. People are reading and study- 
ing into these things. Good citizenship does not leave 
its affairs to a few officials, but co-operates by giving 
its time and thought to these matters." Under those 
conditions Jacksonville with its natural attractiveness, 
will grow to be the most renowned city in the State, 
" Jacksonville is now known far and wide. Its 
hospitality is typical of the State. It is a matter of 
note that a visit to this city is more than likely to be 
stretched far beyond its intended limits, and scores of 
its useful citizens came first as casual tourists and with 
no plan to make it their permanent abiding place. But 
even the most transient visitor to Jacksonville cannot 
remain a stranger, for there is a sort of magnetism in 
the handshake that welcomes his first arrival which 
bids him prolong his stay, whether it be for a day or 
for the rest of his natural life." 

Jacksonville has the honor of being the home of 
C. Adrian Pillars, Sculptor, who was chosen to mold the 
Statue of a Florida genius, soon to represent Florida 
in the Hall of Fame. A full size wax model of Dr. 
John Gorrie, as accepted by the Gorrie Statue Com- 
mission is declared by connoisseurs to be a work of ex- 
ceptional merit. 

John Gorrie, M. D. of Apalachicola, Florida, inventor 
of the machine for making artificial ice and the modern 
system of refrigeration was born in Charleston, S. C, 
in 1803. He was educated in the schools of Charleston 
and later graduated from a medical school of New York. 

Dr. Gorrie was a classmate of Dr. Asa Gray of Har- 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 115 

vard. In 1833 Dr. Gorrie removed to Apalachicola, 
Florida, where he took a prominent and active part in 
the public affairs of that city. His scientific articles 
published in the Medical Journals of the day brand him 
a genius. As early as 1847 he made ice with his 
machine. A patent was issued to him in 1851. Death 
claimed this great benefactor of mankind in 1855. 

Owing to the efforts of Capt. George H. Whiteside of 
Apalachicola a local monument was erected to his 
memory in 1900 and in 1913 a bill was pushed through 
the Florida legislature by Senator Geo. W. Dayton and 
Hon. Thos. West, carrying an appropriation of $10,000 
for the execution of a statue of Dr. Gorrie to be placed 
in Florida's niche of honor in Statuary Hall in Wash- 
ington, D. C. A commission was formed consisting of 
Capt. Geo. Whiteside, Senator Dayton and Hon. Thos. 
West to carry out the provisions of the act. A public 
competition was held in Tallahassee and the contract 
awarded to the Jacksonville sculptor. 

Again we are privileged to be transported to an- 
other world-wide known place and that is the Ormond- 
Daytona beach, the most famous automobile race course 
in the world. It is the tract over which human intel- 
ligence and daring have recorded their swiftest bursts 
of speed. The fastest mile ever recorded was covered 
by Bob Burman in 25 : 40 seconds in April, 1911. 

Key West enjoys the distinction of being the farthest 
south in the jurisdiction of federal government. The 
century-long isolation of Key West has been broken by 
the entering of the railroad. At last, brought into close 
and quick touch with the big, bustling world, her loneli- 
ness is ended and she takes her place among the more 
important cities on the map of the United States. 



116 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

Key West disputes with Tampa the honor of being 
the greatest cigar producer in the world. 

" WTien the battleship Maine was blown up in Havana 
harbor in 1898, Key West was aroused to great excite- 
ment, in common with the rest of this country. It was 
foreseen everywhere that war was inevitable, and Key 
West, from its nearness to the center of trouble, had 
special cause for anxiety. Yet, with all its anticipation 
of a dark future, this city was the first to offer asylum 
for the survivors of that disaster and burial for the 
dead. And it is in the cemetery here that many heroes 
of the Maine found their last resting place. 

" When peace had been restored the citizens of Key 
West raised a monument to the memory of these sailors ; 
an impressive figure in bronze stands upon a pedestal 
of granite with one hand grasping an oar, the other 
shading his eyes ; the sailor seems to be looking far 
away as if to discern and to overcome some danger 
threatening his beloved country. The cost of this 
tribute, more than six thousand dollars, was raised by 
the contributions of the school children of Key West,, 
supplemented by those of a few older citizens. 

" The first government wireless station to be opened 
for the regular receipt of commercial messages is that at 
Key West, Fla. This is in accord with the recent act of 
congress which provided commercial business should be 
handled at naval and army wireless stations when there 
was no commercial station within one hundred miles. 
The Key West station has a powerful reach practically 
covering the gulf, Caribbean sea and many islands of 
the West Indies. It also will be the main point of 
wireless communication with steamships bound to and 
from Cuba, Panama and Central and South America." 




Marshes of the Everglades 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 117 

The opening of the Florida East Coast Railway means 
a great deal to Key West, and in welcoming the arrival 
of the first train bearing Mr. Flagler, on Jan. 22nd, an 
elaborate program of festivities was prepared. This 
great builder will be praised for generations to come 
for the good he has done for the State of Florida and 
one and all adopt the wish for him as expressed by J. B. 
Killgrew in an acrostic dedicated to the Builder of the 
Florida East Coast Railway, — and written for the beauti- 
ful official souvenir of the Key West Extension compiled 
by George M. Chapin. 

" CONSUMMATUM EST/' 

Far down the sunlit golden sands 

Lie gleaming rails — the twin steel bands 
Of commerce — spanning verdant isles. 
Running o'er the sea miles on miles ; 
In old Key West their mission ends. 

Dreadnoughts to he each nation sends • 

And wealth and fame all this portends. 

Each year was wrought through storm and strife 
Another link in the railway's life; 

Safe and strong was each great arch made 
That bore the rails from grade to grade. 

Cities, hamlets like magic grew 

Out of jungles the road went through, 
And fertile farms now meet the eye, 
Seen as the tran goes roaring by 
To old Key West, 'neath tropic sky. 



118 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

Eearing an empire — man of might, 
A toast I give. You've won the fight 
In spite of odds — and they were great: 
" Long may you live, high be your state ; 
Wealth, health, honor may you enjoy 
All your life through, without alloy. 
Yours to the end may God defend ! " 




Picking" Oranges 
Courtesy Florida Grower Tampa. 



FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 119 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

PINES AND PALMS. 

One's first impression, when coming into the State of 
Florida, is that the only trees to be found, other than 
orange trees, are Pines and Palms, with an occasional 
water oak, so great is their predominance. And one is 
told that " the forests of Florida are composed largely 
of pitch pines and different species of evergreen oaks 
and are estimated to cover 35,000,000 acres," but in the 
travel over the State one finds other interesting and 
.sometimes picturesque trees. 

There can be nothing more beautiful, and especially 
upon one's seeing it for the first time, than an orange 
and grapefruit grove. The tourist is indeed fortunate 
who plans to come to Florida before the groves are 
picked and the fruit shipped. Then he can see the 
glossy green foliage as a background for the golden 
fruit, which hangs so abundantly that sometimes the 
limbs have to be propped up to keep them from breaking 
with the weight. 

Later on in the season another rare treat is given 
the traveler if he remains during what all term the 
'' tourist season," and that is the still beautiful green 
trees with their fragrant, bridal flowers, and sometimes 
an orange or two still clinging among this fragrance. 
The largest single grapefruit tree in Florida is seen in 
Winter Haven. 



120 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

Probably the only Traveler's Tree, which is a native 
tree of Madagascar, to bloom in the United States is 
the one found on the Cragin Place, Lake Worth, Fla. 
It has the appearance of a palm, — the leaves being the 
largest individual leaves known. The Traveler's Tree 
derives its name from the wholesome sap found at the 
base of the leaves, which furnishes a refreshing drink to 
travelers, and the seeds which yield a flour used by the 
natives for food. 

One of the strangest and most interesting trees it has 
ever been my fortune to study in the State of Florida 
is the Mangrove. Generally a shrub but after attain- 
ing the height of a tree, it grows along the beaches or 
muddy, marshy places. It throws out long roots from 
the lower part of the stem, but also sends down long 
slender roots from the branches which grow and in 
turn throw out roots, thus forming an impenetrable 
hedge or barrier for long distances. 

Oysters cling to the roots of the mangrove along deep 
water beaches in great bunches, and at low tide they 
hang above the water and are as described by A. W. 
Dimock, " The strangest fruit ever borne by trees." 

The fruit of some species of mangrove is said to be 
sweet and edible, and the fermented juice is made into a 
kind of light wine. 

The Eed Mangrove is rich in tannin ; salt crystals can 
be obtained from the leaves of the Black Mangrove; 
while the White Mangrove, under the name of button- 
wood, is good for fuel. 

The reader must be beginning to think that every 
tree in Florida has some food or medicinal value, and it 
is amazingly true. 

The Mango a genus of evergreen tree, although a 
native of India and the Malay Peninsula, has been intro- 




Cocoanut Palm 
and Fruit. Fla. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 121 

duced in Florida a great many years ago, however, so 
that it is thought of as a Florida production. The ripe 
kidney shaped fruit is highly prized for eating while the 
unripe fruit is used for sauces and pickles and other 
preparations. 

The Eucalyptus trees, remarkable for their gigantic 
size, are occasionally found in Florida. They, too, con- 
tribute their quota to food and medicine. The oil is 
used medicinally, and a pleasing wine or beer is made 
from the sap of one species. 

" The Estero colonists deserve especial mention as 
being the first to introduce eucalyptus timber trees into 
south Florida, and have done more to demonstrate the 
adaptability of the different varieties of this wonderful 
hardwood timber to Florida soil and climate than have 
any other people in the State. The first planting of 
eucalyptus at Estero was made in the spring of 1894. 
The following winter witnessed the big freeze, in which 
all the tender young trees of this species were killed to 
the ground. A few sprouted again from the root, and 
several of tliese may still be seen in the park grounds of 
Unity at Estero. One of the largest specimens at the 
age of sixteen years, was uprooted in the storm of 1910, 
and when measured was found to be three feet in 
diameter and eighty-three feet in height. A sprout has 
since grown from one of the remaining lateral roots, 
and is now, after two years, over twenty-five feet high. 

" That the growth of merchantable eucalyptus timber 
is one of the great future propositions for South Florida, 
there can be no question, growing as it does with 
tremendous rapidity, and far outstripping the softer 
woods, while its own wood is heavy, tough, with inter- 
locked fiber, resisting great strain when placed upon it, 
and is almost proof against decay. The trees when once 



1Z2 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

established thrive even in poor soil, and resist the 
greatest extremes of drouth, moisture and heat, and will 
endure some degrees of freezing temperature." 

In Maimi there is a cocoanut palm which stands 100 
feet high, and is as many years old. The cocoanut palms 
cannot endure the slightest freeze and they stand a 
positive proof of Florida's unequaled winter climate. 

Miami also has more Royal Poincianas than any place 
I know of in the United States. 

Mrs. Marion C. McAdow in her department of Orna- 
mentals for Florida in the Florida Grower says of the 
Eoyal Poinciana : — 

" Three inquiries have come in the past week regard- 
ing the character and habit of the Eoyal Poinciana tree, 
and I will give a little time to these inquiries, as there 
are no doubt more strangers in our State who have yet 
to see this gorgeous tree. 

" One inquirer wishes to know how tall it grows ? "We 
have one on the water front in our town that must be 
nearly 20 years old, which has never grown more than 
15 feet high, with a broad, flat, spreading head. Then 
1 know of other trees that have grown 50 or 60 feet high. 
As a rule it does not branch close to the ground. 

" Most of the trees in our neighborhood send up a 
trunk that branches eight or ten feet from the ground 
and then spread out their flat growing foliage most 
unlike any tree I am acquainted with in the North. The 
elm has a similar way of spreading out its branches, but 
the trees do not resemble each other in any way. The 
tree loses its leaves for three, four or five months in the 
winter time. That is really the only fault one can find 
with this superb specimen of the plant kingdom. It 
comes into bloom in May as a rule, and I have seen it 
blossoming here the latter part of April. It holds its 




The Palms 
Northward-up-the-Bay: From the Lawn 
Courtesy J. E. Chapline, Jr. Sarasota, 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 123 

flowers for about a month. They are individually as 
large as the top of a drinking glass and grow in masses. 

" The whole top of the tree will be covered with a 
blanket of brilliant vermillion and yellow or orange. 
The sight they presented last May when " The Horticul- 
tural Society " met is something that will leave an im- 
pression of delight on those who saw it, so long as they 
live. 

" They do not seem to grow at all in California, so we 
may have that advantage that California can't beg or 
buy from us." 

The natives cut out the heart of the cabbage palm and 
after trimming considerably, the inside, a beautiful 
creamy crisp food, is cooked in the same way as cabbage 
and is delicious. In describing their beauty a resident 
says of it: 

" The native cabbage palm, whose name is much too 
plebian to indicate its royal beauty, is always a beauti- 
ful picture for me to observe. The onward march of 
progress and the ruthless advancement of agricultural 
development have compelled me and many of my neigh- 
bors to apply the ax and torch to these beautiful speci- 
mens of the palm family but I have never yet seen one 
fall to the ground with its dull, echoless thud without 
feeling that I had almost committed a crime against the 
landscape ! " 

" God made the country and man made the town, 
What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts 
That can alone make sweet the bitter draught 
That life holds out to all, should most abound 
And least be threatened in the fields and groves ? " 

Cowper. 



124 FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BIRD MELODIES. 

" BiEDS with music-trembling bosoms '' bold service 
from matins to vespers in the green cathedrals nature so 
lavishly builds for them in Florida. In and out of the 
intricate aisles and choirs and chapels of the water oaks, 
pines and palms the mocking birds and orioles come and 

go. 

The coarse strident note of the busy jay commands 
one to throw aside any idle dream and get to thoughts 
of business. One is compelled to notice the glories of 
the new day when on the top-most bough of a pine tree 
a lark with upraised head bursts forth in exultant tones 
in praise of the Creator of all things beautiful. When 
the stillness of a moonlight night is broken only by 
the gentle call of the whippoorwill and an answering 
echo in the distance, one can sit and think tender 
thoughts ; all the cares, jovs, troubles and pleasures seem 
blended into a sad contentment and at last under the 
calm influence of this night bird's call a feeling akin to 
heavenly peace comes and one dreamily prepares for 
rest and deep sleep. While, if the disturbance is caused 
by the " who ! who ! " of an old owl or the shivery, 
trembly call of a " screeh owl," one is inclined to get 
inside and close the doors or drive away this bird, which 
the superstitious believe, presages death or sickness 




A Palmetto Shack 
Scene on the way to Myakka 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 135 

with his weird cry ; " Bob White " is equivalent to a call 
to arms for the huuter. 

There is something fascinating about the song of 
the Florida mocking bird. One is inclined to separate 
the tones and decide to which bird they belong. Just as 
the tones are about identified the songster changes to 
another and one is at a loss to decide anything but that 
all the other birds must be resting and the mocking 
bird has taken up the burden of the whole orchestra. 

A familiar bird, one that could very appropriately 
be called one of the " water marks " of Florida, is the 
Pelican. As one's boat goes down the channel of the 
Bay, each guide-post on the way is topped by a Pelican, 
and the beaches are dotted with them. They are un- 
gainly looking creatures and are especially interesting 
to watch, as they fill their great pouch with fish to be 
eaten at leisure or carried home to their young. They 
nest in large colonies, a notable colony possessing 
Pelican Island in Indian River, Florida. Hornaday in 
his American Natural History describes their fishing 
in the ocean breakers : — " They sail so near the water 
it seems a wonder it does not strike them; but they 
raise over the incoming waves and lower again into the 
trough with the utmost pecision, always keenly alert. 
All of a sudden the wings are thrown out of gear, and a 
fountain of flying spray tells the story of the plunge with 
open pouch for the luckless fish." 

A very amusing sight and a rare one, is to see a gull 
perch upon the head of a pelican and take away such 
fish as protrude from the big bills. 

William B^tram, botanist, according to Benjamin 
Harrison, told of a most wonderful bird, in Florida. 

" There are two species of vulture in these regions, 
I think not mentioned in history. The first we shall 



1^6 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

describe is a beautiful bird near the size of a turkey 
buzzard, but his wings are much shorter and conse- 
quently he falls greatly below that admirable bird in 
sail. I shall call this bird the painted vulture. The 
bill is long and straight almost to the point where it is 
hooked and sharp; the head and neck bare of feathers 
nearly down to the stomach, where the feathers begin 
to cover the skin and soon become long and of a soft 
texture, forming a ruff or tippet in which the bird, 
by contracting his neck, can hide that as well as his 
head ; the bare skin on the neck appears loose and 
wrinkled and is of a deep, bright, yellow color, inter- 
mixed with coral red; the hinder part of the neck is 
nearly covered with short, stiff hair and the skin of 
this part of the neck is of a dun, purple color, grad- 
ually becoming red as it approaches the yellow of the 
sides and forepart. The crown of the head is red; 
there are lobed lappets of a reddish orange color which 
he has on the base of the upper mandible. But, what 
is singular, a large portion of the stomach hangs down 
on the breast of the bird in the likeness of a sack or 
half wallet and seems a duplicate of the craw, which is 
naked and of a reddish color; this is partly concealed 
by the feathers of the breast unless when it is loaded 
with food (which is commonly, I believe, roasted rep- 
tiles), and then it appears prominent. The plumage 
of the bird is white or cream color except the quill 
feathers of the wings and two or three rows of the cov- 
erts which are of a beautiful dark brown ; the tail, 
which is large and white, is tipped with this dark 
brown or black ; the legs and feet of a clear white ; the 
eye is encircled witli a cold colored iris; the pupil is 
black. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 137 

" These birds seldom appear^ but when the deserts are 
set afire (which happens ahnost every day throughout 
the year in some parts or other, by the Indians for the 
purpose of rousing the game, as also by the lightning), 
when they are seen at a distance, soaring on the wing, 
gathering from every quarter, and gradually approach- 
ing the burnt plains, where they alight upon the ground 
yet smoking with hot embers. They gather up the 
roasted serpents, frogs and lizards, filling their sacks 
with them ; at this time a person may shoot them at 
pleasure, they not being willing to quit the feast, and 
indeed, seem to brave all danger. 

" The Creeks or Muscogulges construct their royal 
standard of the tail feathers of this bird, which is called 
by a name signifying the eagle's tail; this they carry 
with them when they go to battle, but when it is painted 
with a zone of red within the brown tips ; and in peace- 
ful negotiations it is displayed new, clean and white. 
This standard is held most sacred by them on all occa- 
sions and is constructed and ornamented with great 
ingenuity." 

Now it seems fair to conclude from the language 
here u.sed and the precise account : 

1. That Bj^rtram saw the bird and personally ob- 
served its habits. His description of other birds with 
which we are familiar are true to the name and char- 
acter so that he could not have been grossly mistaken 
nor could have called some other bird a vulture. Some 
items of the description apply to the wood ibis, but 
this Bertram also describes, giving the proper name and 
a good account of its characteristics as of many other 
birds. But why is there no other account of this 
painted vulture from previous or subsequent observers? 

8. It is evident that the bird existed in numbers and 



128 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

was often in evidence. Its habits brought it frequently 
in view and its size and coloring made it noticeable. 

3. It would be unnatural that such a bird should 
suddenly disappear from the face of the earth within 
a time so brief without a great change in climate or 
other condition essential to its life. Evidently its ex- 
istence would never be endangered by the Indians. It 
is equally plain that, being a vulture and so unfit for 
food, the coming of the white man could not cause 
its extinction. 

But if we must accept the account of Bertram, why 
was the bird unnoticed by others? Even when the 
standard of the Muscogees is described we find no ref- 
erence to the bird as would be natural if it were so 
remarkable. Pickett, whose father spent years among 
these Indians and from whose papers so much tliat is 
interesting has been preserved, gives no sign that he 
knew of such a bird except through this description of 
Bertram, and Bernard Shipp almost confesses ignorance 
when he says : " In the center of the principal village 
(of the Muscogees) in the highest place, is a public 
square surrounded by four long galleries. One of these 
galleries is the council hall where councils are held every 
day to expedite business. This hall is divided into two 
cliambers by a longitudinal partition; the rear apart- 
ment is thus deprived of light; they can enter only 
through a very low opening formed in the base of the 
partition. In this sanctuary are deposited the treasures 
of religion and policy — tlie crown of stag's horns, the 
medicine cup, the Chickicoues, the calumet of peace and 
the national standard made of an eagle's tail. None but 
the Micco, the Chief Warrior and the Higli Priest can 
enter this wonderful place." 

Now if this strange bird existed in Florida or else- 




Many Varieties of Duck 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 129 

where in the territories of the Museogees as the Ameri- 
cans knew them, it is inconceivable that only Bertram 
could know of its presence. Others speak of the standard 
but they describe its feathers as those of an eagle. Not 
even Milfort and Gillivray speak of the Painted Vulture 
although they were chiefs and gave many particulars 
as to the institutions and traditions of their people. 
Gen. Andrew Pickett lived long among the Museogees 
and from his diary and papers a most interesting descrip- 
tion of the people and many details of their customs 
were incorporated in a history of Alabama by his son, 
but these knew of the Painted Vulture only from 
Bertram. Colonel Hawkins lived for years among the 
Museogees and was admitted to their councils and 
enjoyed their full confidence but he never heard of the 
Vulture so far as his papers and journal testify. 

Now the most sacred treasure in that national secret 
room of which Shipp speaks was the Tookabatcha plates 
given from Heaven to avert ruin in a great crisis. Next 
was the written record of the migrations on which all 
the traditions and many of the cherished customs were 
based. In this Migration Legend we surely might ex- 
pect to hear of the national bird if such a creature ex- 
isted. If that legend were known to us by oral evidence 
delivered in late years it might be said that its keeper 
carfully hid such knowledge from enemies or had for- 
gotten much. Here, however, even fancy that loves the 
wonderful must give way to facts of record. 

But the first official conference between the white men 
and the chiefs of the Museogees occurred in 1735 at 
the infant settlement of Savannah where the chief 
Tomochichi had prevailed on his people to conclude a 
treaty with General Oglethorpe in behalf of the King of 
England and the colony of Georgia. At this treaty, 



130 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

where the two parties were almost painfully friendly and 
confiding, the Head Chief Tchikilli showed the picture 
record of the legend and translated it into current speech 
which was, in turn translated into English and care- 
fully preserved : " This speech was curiously written in 
red and black characters, on the skin of a young buffalo 
and translated into English as soon as delivered in the 
Indian language. The said skin was set in a frame 
and hung up in the Georgia office in Westminster." 
Copies of this Indian rendition of the Migration Legend 
in Muscogee and English as originally written are before 
the writer of this in Gatschet's careful account, but the 
Vulture fails of mention in either. On the supposition 
that Bertram was right such omission would be sufficient 
to impeach the record itself. 

If the flamingo, the egret or the roseate spoonbill 
suddenly disappeared we would condemn those whose 
crime of neglect had made such a loss possible, but 
posterity would be assured they had lived and flourished 
while science could command all need knowledge of their 
structure, habits and colors. But in the case of the 
Painted Vulture the mystery must deepen with age and 
the puzzle become more hopeless. In all else Bertram is 
trustworthy whether he deal with the settlers, the 
Indians, beast, birds, plants or soil; wliy should he fail 
us on exactly this point so widely and so deeply? If 
it be true that we cannot believe a story so hopelessly 
discredited, it is also true that we cannot understand 
the possibility of wilful deception or failure to learn tlie 
facts on the part of such an observer. If a mere frag- 
ment of bone from any animal still unknown were 
offered to the Smithsonian institution money would im- 
mediately be offered in abundance to follow the evidence 
till knowledge had been acquired or pursuit become 




Horticultural Grounds 
(This was a hammock four years ago) 
Courtesy of Director 



FASCIXATING FLORIDA. 131 

hopeless; why should science neglect this fragment from 
some unknown body of fact? The Creeks of the west 
are still proud of their history and their traditions — 
might not some of them be expected to take up the story 
where Bertram left it and give us a confirmation that 
would be satisfactory? 

The egret is hunted for its beautiful white plumes 
which women prize for a moment and also the flamingo. 
The male flamingo has a light red plumage, whose 
large feathers have black quills; the females are pale 
pink and the young nearly white. 

As is the case with other beautiful birds, their hand- 
some plumes are causing many of the birds to be killed 
by hunters that before long only a few will remain. 

It is decidedly an uncanny feeling to hear the cry of 
a Whooping Crane coming, apparently, from under one's 
feet and to realize that same crane may be perhaps a 
mile away. The deep resonant sound made by the 
whooping crane, my reference work tells, is produced 
by a coil of the windpipe in the breast bone. The wind- 
pipe of this species is four or five feet long, and 38 
inches of it are coiled in the front part of the breast 
bone. 

The whooping cranes and sand hill cranes are large 
long-legged birds and they " step along " in such an 
amusing way. From my note-book of " side trips " I 
am going to copy An Eighteen Mile Trip, in which you 
will notice an unusual incident in connection with 
whooping cranes, — as they are very wary and are seldom 
seen. 

Think of a small soft-shelled turtle stopping a forty- 
horse power Rambler Automobile. Can you conceive 
how that was accomplished? It was only the tender 
heart of the man at the wheel which prompted him to 



133 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

throw on the brakes and allow the ambling old mover 
to get out of the ruts, with the load on his back, until 
we passed. 

On across country we rocked, literally, for the softest 
cushions and springiest springs can but lessen, to a 
small degree, the roughness of travel over the serpentine 
roads and palmetto roots of Florida. The driver decided 
to try another road which he thought would lead more 
directly to the fishing hole he sought. So, straight 
across the Florida prairie bumped the Eambler, while 
Granny pushed the pillows more comfortably to her 
back ; the children gave screams of sheer delight and the 
Thermos bottles of ice water rolled a clicking accom- 
paniment to the musical throb of the motor. 

A glance down from the side of the car and it seemed 
that we surely were gliding over a velvety green carpet, 
all stamped with flowers of every hue, a pattern laid 
out in Mother Nature's own carelessly perfect way. 

Would that I could have painted the beautiful scene 
with my eye, for in the distance from the eye, through 
the arm, to the pencil, where I will try to paint the word 
picture, so much of the beauty is lost. Imagine the 
flowery-stamped carpet of grass over which we passed 
and think of the gentle patter of rain drops on the 
roof, which in reality was the little hard seed pods of 
the high grass hitting against the bottom of the car. 
In the distance one's eye took in the beautiful subdued 
blue-grayness produced by the light througli hundreds 
of stalwart pine trunks, the grayness melting into a 
line of fringed green and that in turn dissolving into 
such delicate blue and white cloud that look as though 
some angel baby on the entrance to Heaven had left its 
fluflfy blankets in mid-air and across this entrancing 




Plots on Horticultural Grounds — Fla. Exp. Station 
Courtesy of the Director. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 133 

scene, in gleaming, gliding gracefulness, flew a flock 
of snow white curlew. 

An unusual thing happened. We got within shoot- 
ing distance of some whooping cranes, with their long- 
legged baby stalking behind. The men ran the baby 
down. I cuddled the gawky treasure all the way home 
and now the children have lots of fun catching minnows 
and frogs for his delectation. 

From the depths of the deep water holes some fine 
trout were caught. We lingered there in that delight- 
ful spot, eighteen miles from home, until the blue and 
white baby blankets were changed to the glorious and 
gorgeous array of some departed potentate and until 
these, in turn, were hidden in the gray shroud of night. 
The stern old pines stood like sentinels with their 
drapery of gray moss floating in the breeze; tall ferns 
quivered in the damp dark moss ; the myriad stars were 
tapers to light our way. 

We were attended on our return trip by the dancing 
fireflies ; the lonely call of the whippoorwill ; the monoto- 
nous croak of the frogs in the tall saw-grass, the droning 
and chirping of the insects around, while above all arose 
the hospitable and thrilling invitation of the mocking- 
bird to us to visit this enchanted land again. 



134 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOLY GROUND. 

" Take thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground 
whereon thou standest is holy ground." 

Hon. Duncan IT. Fletcher, Florida Senator, delivered 
an oration on the battlefield of Olustee, after which the 
monument to the Confederate Veterans who died at 
that, the greatest of all Civil War battles in this State, 
was unveiled. All who heard Senator Fletcher handle 
the glorious subject in his masterly way were proud of 
the senior United States Senator from Florida, and 
gloried in being identified with the people of Florida who 
have so nobly responded to the remembering, in erecting 
so beautiful a monument to the brave men of war days. 

Extracts from the speech of Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher, 
at the dedication of the Olustee Battlefield Monument, — 

" The air is full of shot and shell. The roar of cannon 
and musketry is deafening. We hear the click of the 
minnie ball on this side, and the crash of the round 
bullet on that, as they pierce the trees above our head. 
It would seem as if no man could escape this deadly 
fire. Mingling with the din and the roar you hear the 
commands of officers and the shouting of the men as the 
lines approach nearer and nearer each other. There, 
the Federals fall back and the Confederates have cap- 
tured five pieces of artillery. The horses run wild and 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 135 

fall here and there, the smoke aud flame, shot and shell 
vie with each other in this test of human prowess. 

Now a pause. What has happened? We hear only 
occasional shots from the Confederates, although they 
have pressed close to the enemy and actually routed a 
portion of their army and captured some of their men 
and arms, and scattered their dead over a wide area. 

The ammunition of the Confederate forces is ex- 
hausted ! They have no cartridges to fire. Will they 
run? No. Will they retire as orderly and quietly as 
possible ? No. Will they surrender ? No — No ! They 
will stand their ground and receive the enemy's fire until 
their cartridge boxes are filled again. Ammunition is on 
the way. You can hear Colquitt say : ' Steady men — we 
will soon be supplied and we will win.' After what 
seemed a century of time, the ammunition arrives. 
' Here, brave lads, fill your cartridge boxes, give volley 
after volley and push forward a third time ! ' A regi- 
ment of the New Hampshire troops is breaking in con- 
fusion. Yonder on the right the Federals start a flank 
movement. Harrison turns it ! The Colonel and Major 
of the colored regiment are killed and they retreat. 
Colquit, the Blucher at this Federal Waterloo who 
knows no word but " Forward " charges in front, and 
all along the line the troops in gray make an irresistible 
attack before which we see the Federal lines melting 
away ! It is growing dark, we see the saber flash in the 
red light of battle. Hear the shouts amidst desperate 
deeds and death. Se}Tiiour's lines are broken — ^his men 
are hurrying toward Sanderson. The Confederates pur- 
sue as best they can after four hours of such work. The 
cavalry commanded by Col. Smith soon discontinues the 
pursuit. The first halt of the Federals was made seven 
miles away, at Sanderson and during the night they 



136 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

hastened to the St. Mary's Eiver. Here, all around where 
we stand, * the wounded are filling the night air with 
lamentations, the crippled horses are neighing in pain, 
and a full moon is kissing the cold, clammy lips of the 
dying.' Such is dreadful war ! Such the victory in 
this contest ! The losses reported on the Federal side, 
were, 1861 killed, wounded and missing and on the Con- 
federate, 941 killed and wounded. 

Is it worth while, think you, to commemorate that 
victory, that devotion to a cause, that genius in war, 
those virtues which enter into true manhood, exhibited 
here on that fateful day ? Is it worth while to perpetuate 
in memory the qualities displayed here and transmit to 
future generations the record of that history-making 
achievement? There can be but one answer and this 
monument makes it. Glorious spirit in a people it is 
that will respond to the suggestion that a monument of 
the most durable material shall forever mark this battle- 
field. 

" It is fitting ' that in Florida and on the grounds 
where was fought one of the most furious and 
sanguinary battles of that war, a monument should be 
reared, built of granite, to proclaim and perpetuate the 
fact that here on this field was illustrated true and rare 
heroism, extraordinary endurance and valor, by men 
whose conduct, deeds and daring covered them with 
glory eternal. "Whether that be made to appear on the 
written page and be embalmed in permanent covers or 
not, we want it to be constantly told for all time, to all 
people by this Sentinel, on duty night and day, in fair 
weather and in storm, never sleeping, never shirking. 

" Florida furnished more troops to the Confederacy 
in proportion to population that any other State. 
Twelve regiments of infantry, two regiments and one 




St. John's River View 
Courtesy Florida Grower Tampa 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 137 

battalion of cavalry and four light batteries were 
organized in tlie State. 

" In the higher ranks of the Confederate Armj^ 
Florida was represented by Ivirby E. Smith, a full 
General; J. Patton Anderson, Wni. W. Loring and M. 
L. Smith, Major Generals; Theodore W, Brevard, 
Eobert Bullock, W. G. M. Davis, Joseph Finegan, J. J. 
Finley, James Mcintosh, William Miller, E. A. Perry, 
Francis A. Shoup, ^Yilliam S. Walker, and J. J. 
Dickison, Brigadier Generals. 

" New birth in human efficiency is a new birth in 
national strength. An increase of two million dollars 
a day in the value of its property is an increase in 
national resources and power. Fifty years after rup- 
ture and blood witnesses the South's greatest awaken- 
ing. 

'^ While appreciating this, the young men and women 
of this generation and its successors must hold fast to 
the memories of that past wherein their fathers and 
mothers played so important and noble a part on a stage 
on which all the world gazed, and in a tragedy where 
human hearts and human lives and human hopes were 
at istake. 

" ' We did amiss when we did wish it gone 
And over. Sorrows humanize our race; 
Tears are showers that fertilize the world; 
And memory of things precious keepeth warm 
The heart that once did hold them ; 
They are poor 

That have lost nothing; they are poorer far 
Who, losing have forgotten ; they most poor of all 
Who lose, and wish they might forget.' 



,138 FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 

" We may trust to one repository for treasuring the 
best and holiest memories of life — the heart of woman. 

" The women of the Southland displayed in the 
darkest days of its history, sublime loyalty and fidelity. 
They never lost courage and faith in all the years of 
privation and sacrifice and suffering. Their fortitudes 
nerved the men of their country during the awful times 
that followed defeat, and in their busy tasks of labor, 
repression and public duty. Continuously since then, 
they have ministered to the afflicted heroes, have brought 
consolation and happiness to their declining 3^ears, have 
built monuments to the memory of the dead, have 
gathered and preserved the history of their exploits, 
and stood steadfastly for the highest ideals of life and 
nobilities of character. 

" You, United Daughters of the Confederacy, at the 
suggestion of Mrs. J. N. Whitner, originated the idea 
and initiated the movement which culminated in the 
erection of this monument. In the face of discourage- 
ment and indifference you have held to the accomplish- 
ment of your patriotic purpose. 

" I esteem it an honor of the choicest to have been 
permitted to second your efforts by serving as Secretary 
and Treasurer of the Commission entrusted with the 
work, and to have part in these exercises. 

" In this granite tower which proclaims the honor of 
the Confederate Soldiers is likewise the evidence of your 
self sacrifice and your holy zeal. As it stands sentinel 
over the field where the Confederate Soldier won admis- 
sion to the Temple of fame, it will tell of the great love 
which made it possible, and it will recall to coming 
generations the heroism of that noble band of saintly 
women who witnessed the great war, and suffered its 
horrors, and who have passed or are rapidly passing to 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 139 

endless joy and peace. Heroism and the light eternal 
have been in their lives as they move toward the re- 
ward vouchsafed to ' the pure in heart.' Nothing can 
ever diminish, thank Heaven, the love and reverence of 
these women in the hearts of our men. 

" ^ Ye daughters of this Southern land, 

A noble deed you've nobly done 
In rearing with a loving hand 

This shaft unto each martyred son. 
Yes, this to those who bled and died, 

But what to those who stood beside. 
Who bore the burden of the strife, 

The sorrows of the private life, 
Who stood before starvations' mouth 

The noble Women of the South? 

Ye sons, ye men, ye soldiers all, 

Who owe to Womanhood your birth. 
Now rally to the sacred call 

And rear some emblem, true of worth, 
Unto the Southern Womanhood, 
Who saved our homes, and ever stood 

Beside the War-men of our land, 

And gave their strength, their heart, their hand. 

To save the South where honor stood 

Our brave Confederate Womanhood ! ' 

"We dedicate this monument and deliver it to the 
State of Florida, reminding those who will care for it 
and those whose eyes will fall upon it, that it stands on 
consecrated ground; that it guards a sacred cause, that 
graven into it are the dearest, holiest sentiments of the 



140 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

human heart; that honor and valor, self-reliance and 
patriotism, it symbolizes and perpetuates; that into its 
granite form are wrought the hopes and tears and the 
love of Women's hearts ! 

" May all nature's elements be gentle and kind to it ; 
may reverent hands faithfully attend its surroundings, 
that it may be long in its place, serving its mighty and 
glorious purpose. 

" The law directed the Commission to ' erect on the 
field of the battle of Olustee a monument to the Con- 
federate OflBcers and soldiers who participated in said 
battle.' The resources were inadequate to enable the 
Commission to do all it desired but the members brought 
their best efforts to the task and the result is before you. 

" Here valor did its imperishable work, here history 
made entries in the book of fame, here posterity builds 
and will guard this monument ! " 

:)c :ic 4: :(( 4! ^ 4: 

Another consecrated spot is near Fernandina where 
reposes the body of Light Horse Harry Lee.^ " Henry 
Lee, a Eevolutionary soldier, was born in Virginia, Jan. 
29th, 1756. He graduated at Princeton College, and in 
1776 was appointed a captain of cavalry, and in the fol- 
lowing year joined the main army. His vigor and 
ability attracted the attention of Washington, and his 
command was soon distinguished for the rapidity of 
movement and soldierly daring which afterward made 
Lee's legion so famous and gave him the name of Light- . 
horse Harry. 

"In 1786 Lee was sent to Congress by the Virginia 

Assembly, and in 1793 he was elected Governor of 

Virginia. As a member of Congress, at the death of 

Washington in 1799, was appointed to prepare the 

1 Vol, . . The New Students Reference Work, 




Magnificent Palm 
Courtesy Floridci (Trower Tarnpa 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 141 

eulogy upon the life and character of his dead chieftain. 
His resolutions contained the often quoted words: 
' first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his 
countrymen.' 

" Lee was in Baltimore in 1814, when the office of 
the Federal Republican was sacked by a mob. He took 
an active part against them, and with his friends was 
placed in jail for safe-keeping, but the mob broke into 
the building and killed or seriously injured all its 
inmates. Lee never recovered from his injuries, and 
soon made a voyage to the West Indies on a vain search 
of health. He "died on March 25th, 1818," and Florida 
claims the honor of being the abiding place of the 
honorable dead. Light-horse Harry Lee, as everyone 
knows, was the father of the famous Southern General, 
Robt. E. Lee. 

Visitors to Fernandina become imbued with the 
spell of its buccaneer days. There one is told the 
legend of the Iron Chain, seen once, but never again by 
one individual; one feels that surely one is invading 
the former home of that redoubtable Capt. Kydd; 
Indian mounds have been exhumed and valuable relics 
are shown. One feels anew the charm of R. L. Steven- 
son's " Treasure Island " when visiting in and near 
Fernandina ; for Amelia Island so closely fits the 
description of the treasure island Stevenson so graphic- 
ally describes. Buried treasures were unearthed about 
ten years ago and authenticated. 

Points of interest are, Dungeness, — the winter home 
of the Carnegie family, their palatial residences set in 
formal gardens of rare and luxuriant flora ; Jekyl 
Island, a favorite haunt of New York millionaires; 
Old Fort Clinch, which was bombarded during the Civil 
War, in picturesque ruins. 



143 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

Fernandina was the home of Maj. G. R. Fairbanks, 
historian of Florida. 

There is a social atmosphere of ease, refinement and 
seclusion. Visitors by train an automobile have been 
without the comforts of a modern hotel since the 
Strathmore Hotel on the beach was swept away by the 
ocean, and since the large tourist hotel Egmont was 
demolished. For more than twelve years the residents, 
living in ease and comfort, have neglected and repelled 
tourist and commercial invasion; but now they have 
come to realize that the financial stability of merchants 
and the price of real estate depend upon a closer rela- 
tion with the outside world. 

This sentiment was recently crystallized in the 
formation of the Hotel Company of Fernandina for the 
purpose of erecting a high class, modern hostelry with 
every modern convenience. The most attractive site in 
the city was given by Ex-Mayor McGiffin on the condi- 
tion that such a building, costing not less than $25,000 
should be built thereon within one year. In a short 
time the necessary amount was subscribed by more 
than a hundred citizens; the company incorporated, 
and building operations begun. Thus the attractive 
and interesting city of Fernandina is now opened in an 
elaborate way to the eager traveler, intent on seeing 
the most important places of Florida. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 143 



CHAPTER XI. 

" HESPA'S RED HAND OF DESTINY — " A FLORIDA ROMANCE. 
A FLORIDA ROMANCE. 

For the hundredth time that morning, Hespa took 
from her waist an envelope on which was stamped a red 
liand with the index finger pointing to her name on the 
left hand corner. 

Although the surrounding scenery was of the most 
beautiful, she was curiously oblivious to it this morn- 
ing. Usually she looked forward to her early morning 
trip, in the light row boat, to the nearby village post- 
office, with a great deal of pleasure ; especially so each 
morning the last week for she had been expecting a 
book and a book catalogue. A curious thing, you say, 
for one to obtain a week's pleasant anticipation just in 
looking forward to a book and a catalogue, but Hespa, 
hampered by living in the Florida Back-woods and by 
the lack of money, sometimes even for the necessities 
of her plain life, found a most unusual gladness in this 
very thing. 

With an inborn love for reading and acquiring knowl- 
edge, Hespa read word for word each copy of the one 
magazine which the post-mistress passed on to her each 
month. In one copy she had read a synoposis of that 
l)eautiful nature-novel, " Freckles," and for days had 
been saving dimes from the sale of a few fish to buy 



144 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

this coveted book. The love of Nature had been her 
one ruling passion and now she felt not any the less 
love for her beautiful Florida, and certainly not any 
wish to leave it and go out into the unkno\ni world, 
but just an irresistible desire to know about other 
places and people. 

Now at the age of seventeen, she felt that she must 
break the bonds of " craekerdom " and learn something 
of people and the wonderful things that were being 
accomplished out in the world, and this long-looked for 
catalogue would tell her just how to spend the small 
sums to the best advantage. 

" Oh, fer jist a few books — why was ma letter sent 
back ter me — what do this red han' mean a pinting to 
ma name ? " such distressing thoughts were, for the 
moment only, shutting out the light of the rosy dawn 
from her heart. In reality the address of the Publisher 
was wrong and of course her letter was returned. 

With her oars resting lightly and the fresh morning 
breeze causing the water to lap gently against the sides 
of the boat, her gaze turned first toward the East, 
against whose crimson splendor the feathery crests of 
the palmetto were silhouetted, and again to the West 
where the Gulf's " surfy, slow, deep mellow voice " was 
fall of mystery, trying to find some explanation for 
this mysterious sign that had come to her — a red hand 
that seemed to point her way to undreamed joys or 
sorrows. 

Hespa had lived long enough and dwelt upon the 
mysterious working of nature in so many changes and 
conditions, that she had learned how unwise it is to 
wish everything explained immediately, so with the 
golden glory of the early morning pouring around 
her, only the most rosy-hued dreams came, and 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 145 

with these dreams came the desire to know about 
the poor ignorant rich people of the cities about 
whom, she had read from a copy of the magazine, 
Daniel Webster said, "The morning itself, few 
inhabitants of cities know anything about. Among 
all our good people, not one in a thousand sees the sun 
rise once in a year. Their idea of it is that part of the 
day which comes along after a cup of coffee and a piece 
of toast. With them, morning is not a new issuing of 
light, a new bursting forth of the sun, a new waking up 
of all that has life from a sort of temporary death to 
behold again the works of God, the heavens and the 
earth; it is only a part of the domestic day, belonging 
to reading newspapers, answering notes, sending the 
children to school and giving orders for dinner. 

" The first streak of light, the earliest purpling of 
the east, which the lark springs up to greet ,and the 
deeper and deeper coloring into orange and red, till 
at length the ' glorious sun is seen, regent of the day * — 
this they never enjoy, for they never see it. 

" I never thought that Adam had much the advantage 
of us from having seen the world while it was new. 
The manifestations of the power of God, like his mercies, 
are new every morning and fresh every moment. We 
see as fine risings of the sun as ever Adam saw ; and its 
risings are as much a miracle now as they were in his 
(lay — and I think, a good deal more, because it is now a 
part of the miracle, that for thousands and thousands of 
years, he has come to his appointed time without the 
variation of a millionth part of a second. I know the 
morning — I am acquainted witli it and I love it. I love 
it fresh and sweet as it is — a daily new creation, break- 
ing forth and calling all that have life and breath and 



146 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

being to a new adoration, new enjoyments and new 
gratitude." 

Her revery was broken by the leap of a mullet near 
by, and in lifting her eye in appreciation of his glisten- 
ing body, she saw in the distance, a row boat beached 
and half turned over. Knowing every inch of this land- 
ing place near her home, she realized that this was an 
unusual sight, one that in her hurry of starting for 
the post-office, she had passed unnoticed. 

Swiftly rowing around the bar, where the sea gulls 
stood in rigid rows as for the military inspection of their 
captain, the Pelican, she threw her anchor out and went 
to investigate. On coming nearer, she found a well- 
dressed man, face downward, in the boat, who had 
evidently been unconscious for several hours. Turning 
him over quickly she found a faint spark of life. " Whut 
ef I had ben er hour longer ! " Her one thought now 
was to get him to their shack and with her mother's aid, 
help him to consciousness. She knew just what it was, 
an attack of heart trouble, for had she and her mother 
not spent hours over her own father who was afflicted 
the same way ? The red hand of destiny was pointing 
her way, and she through her forgetfulness of self in a 
desire to be of help to the unconscious man, was paving 
the way to pleasures unknown and even unthought of 
now. 

" Ma, Ma ! come hyer quick and gimmie er lift with 
this pore man," she excitedly cried. 

" Lan' sakes, Hespy, whar'd you fin' 'im ? " 

'' Down on the beach. Ma, en it looks like he's been 
thar all night; les' hurry and do somethin' fer 'im, he's 
jist like Pa." 

With rough, yet tender kindness they carried him in 
the shack and laid him on their best moss mattress. 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 147 

Simple restoratives were used and in a few hours their 
patience and valiant fight against great odds for the 
man's life, were rewarded by seeing his eyes open and 
with a deep sigh, he whispered, " where am I ? " In a 
simple, direct way Hespy told how she had found him 
and in the telling she remembered the red hand. 

It is to his credit that he encouraged the belief in 
this untutored mind and as she told him of her dreams 
and aspirations, he promised her in return for the great 
good she had done for him in saving his life, her much 
desired books. 

''You shall have 'Freckles' also 'The Girl of the 
Limberlost,' and I will send you a set of nature studies 
just as soon as I am able to return to New York." 

Through the day, while he was resting, he had 
arranged with Hespa's mother and father to send her 
away to study, feeling that he would do a great many 
things for this girl who had helped him back to life. 

In the late afternoon, Hespa rowed him back to the 
village, where his parting words to her were " Thank you 
my good girl for the great service you have done me — 
you shall some day find all your dreams come true. 

" Ma, I am the happiest gal in the worP, I tol' you this 
red ban' ment somethin'." 

So the red hand of Destiny had played its part well, 
in saving a worthy life and creating a well-deserved 
happiness. 



148 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 



CHAPTER XII. 

LAKES, RIVERS AND SPRINGS. 

The state of Florida contains over 1200 lakes, the 
largest of which is Okeechobee. According to Mrs. 
Minnie Wilson in " The Seminoles of Florida," all 
through Florida the musical softness, peculiar to the 
Seminole dialect, is sustained in the names of the 
lakes and rivers. Each having a history descriptive of 
its character, or some incident connected therewith. 
Okeechobee, with her vast expanse of water and over- 
hanging mists, in Seminole significance means " the 
place of big water." 

Tohope-Ke-liga is the name of one of the most beauti- 
ful lakes in Florida, its Indian significance meaning 
" Fort site." All around the lake are the old hunting- 
grounds of the Indians and memorable points in 
Seminole war fame. 

Kissimmee river is said to have taken its name from 
a romantic episode. A young Spanish grandee in a 
moment of impulse snatched a kiss from a Seminole 
girl, and the frightened maiden's childlike plaint to her 
mother established the name of the river on whose banks 
the kiss was stolen — Kiss-him-mee. 

We-la-ka is the Indian name for the St. Johns river 
and describes it so graphically that the old Spaniards 
retrograded when they named the " river of lakes " for 




Lake Okuchabu 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 149 

their patron saint. 'Ock-la-wa-ha, " crooked water," ap- 
propriately describes the most crooked stream in 
America. With-la-coo-chee, so memorable in Seminole 
war days as the place of Osceola's strategic movements, 
is a long but very narrow stream, meaning in the 
Seminole tongue, " Little Bay river." Alachua, " the 
jug without a bottom," We-Kiva, " mystery," and so on 
all over the peninsula do we find names preserved which 
mark the wanderings of the picturesque aborigines. 
" We-wa " means water. It is said that the beautiful 
Manatee river is named for the " sea cow " inhabiting 
Florida waters. The Manatee river gives character as 
well as its name to an interesting section of country 
through which it flows. It is one of the most beautiful 
streams in the world. Towards its mouth, where it 
empties into Tampa Bay, it more properly may be 
called a bay than a river; for here it is a broad sheet 
of water from one and a half to two miles wide, flow- 
ing with the tides. , Its banks are lined with tall 
cabbage palmetto trees, under which grows a wild grass 
that runs down to the white sand of its gracefully curv- 
ing beach. As one comes up the river, for a mile or 
two, the only house seen is a low structure, almost 
hidden by palms, that was built of shell and sand by the 
Spaniards long before America had an existence. 
Under its palm-thatched roof Gen. Harney had his 
headquarters in one of the Seminole wars. Just back 
of that and in plain sight, is the fortress of Egmont 
Key, which, with its companion, Mulett Key, guards 
the pass from the Gulf into Tampa Bay. Here the 
G^overnment keeps 300 soldiers, as well as modern coast- 
defense guns that are among the most important safe- 
guards of its shores. The lighthouse on Egmont Key 
is a prominent object in the landscape. 



150 FASCINATING PLORIDA. 

From a broad, majestic stream, on whos^e astonished 
bosom De Soto sailed his ships, the river gradually 
narrows until, miles up, the branches of the trees on 
either bank meet and form an arch of dark, waxen 
green over the dusky, lazily flowing water. At its mouth 
in Tampa Bay one can imagine himself looking at a 
scene the ideal creation of a poet — some dream of the 
tropics, where the glad gods live and golden loves 
sport with long-limbed woodland nymphs, and mer- 
maids sing on yonder dream island, and the tall palms 
lean murmuring to the blue, painted sea that laps the 
low, green shore ; and the soft, sweet air kisses the warm 
and languorous earth — and presently you will rub your 
eyes and be awake. But it is a real scene, and its seduc- 
tive beauty is a picture that you will always recall. 

The editor of the Bay of Sarasota gives the following 
description of one of Florida's favorite rivers: 

" It was the pleasure of the editor to spend a few 
days on the Suwannee Eiver, at White Springs, this 
State, recently, and it being the first glimpse the writer 
ever had of this wondrous stream, famed in song, a life- 
long ambition was realized. 

" Nor were we disappointed, as is often the case when 
sentiments, awakened in childhood, by song or story, 
bring the wanderer in maturer years to view the scenes 
conjured in imagination and peopled with romantic 
characters. 

" The Suwannee Eiver is a beautiful stream, sweep- 
ing in graceful curves through woodland borders, its 
waters tinted in nature's laboratory the color of the 
shall of the ripened corn. The banks of the stream 
at this point are steep, rounded in graceful curves and 
depressions, overhung with great oak trees, trellised 
with ropes of moss, all combining to permit a realization 




On the Anctote River near Tarpon Springs 
Courtesy Florida Grower 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 151 

of the heart-longing of the old darkey, who in those 
dreary days of long ago wandered away to the far 
north, but whose heart was longing ever to be back 
with the old folks at home. 

'^ The magic spring at this place, with its great flow 
of medicinal waters, is living up to its reputation for 
its health-giving qualities, as annually a great many 
chronic sufferers from rheumatism and allied com- 
plaints gather to bathe and drink from this fountain of 
the gods. 

" The town itself is a thrifty community of homey 
folks whose hospitality and content are as natural as 
the waters of the dream river on whose favored banks 
they dwell." 

Lakes and rivers are indissolubly linked in one's 
mind when studying about Florida. Several lakes are 
sources of large rivers. Lake George is the principal 
source of the St. Johns river, and Lake Kissimmee of 
the Kissimmee, while a number of smaller lakes are 
the source of the Oklawaha. 

There are numberless springs in Florida, many of 
them having curative powers. Green Cove Spring in 
Clay County discharges about 3,000 gallons of sul- 
phuretted water per minute. 

Kot far from St. Augustine a spring bursts through 
the sea itself with such force that the ocean breakers 
roll back from it as from a sunken reef. 

Lying at the head of Old Tampa Bay, an hour's ride 
or les«s by auto from Tampa, and little more than an 
hour's launch ride across the bay from Port Tampa, is 
the famous Espiritu Santo Springs, one of the most 
noted springs in the United States among scientists and 
those who have tested its waters. 

Espiritu Santo Springs consists of a group of five 



153 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

springs within an area of less than a quarter of an acre. 
The natural flow is about 100,000 gallons per day, but 
the power pump for the town tower, upon which is 
mounted a tank of 6,000 gallons capacity, after hours 
of pumping has never lowered the Bath House spring 
more than one foot. The volume of the flow is never 
diminished by the most protracted droughts, nor in- 
creased one iota by the torrential water fall from our 
Florida rainy season. This proves conclusively that 
the spring water comes from a great distance and great 
depth, insuring it against contamination. 

The bathing establishment consists of a large swim- 
ming pool, through which constantly flows this incom- 
parable mineral water, perpetually renewing itself and 
a long line of individual porcelain bath-tubs of the 
largest size. These tubs are supplied by gravity with 
water from the tower. The tub baths are administered 
hot or cold. The five springs, which resemble each 
other in many of their constituent elements, all differ, 
as may be discerned from the taste. No. 1, or the Bath 
House Spring, was made famous by the curing of Mr. 
Jesse D. Green of total paralysis of the lower extremities 
more than forty years ago. Mr. Green had been pros- 
trated and almost helpless for four years. Some of tlie 
best physicians in Georgia had pronounced his case in- 
curable. After coming to the Springs he bathed in and 
drank this water. Within ten months he was so far 
recovered that he was able to plow and hoe in his 
orange grove near by. He was entirely restored and 
lived many years afterwards. No. 2, known as the 
Drinking Spring, because it is the one most generally 
and largest used, has cured hundreds of cases of all 
manner of diseases enumerated, and is the one repre- 
sented in the analysis. No. 3 is known as the Old Bath 




' 'The broad Caloosahatchie with its verdure -lined shores' ' 
Courtesy Ft. Myers Board of Trade 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 153 

House Spring, and was found especially efficacious in 
all cutaneous diseases, No. 4 is the Beauty Spring, be- 
cause of the marked effect upon the skin in softening, 
cleansing and beautifying. An abrasion of the skin, by 
simply bathing in this water, is healed as if by first 
intention. This Spring has cured refractory cases of 
eczema of long standing, and also Bright's disease of a 
pronounced type. No. 5, on account of the abundant 
supply has been allowed to run to waste, untested ; it 
may be the best of all. All have the same delightful 
effect in the bath. This group of mineral springs, with 
the most efficacious healing properties, can hardly be 
equaled for quantity and quality by any other mineral 
waters in the United States. Most healing springs are 
usually very scant in their flow; in many they have to 
use the night flow for bottling. Here we have an 
inexhaustible supply. 

In one of the battles fought by Col. Bailey and his 
command in middle Florida, among the prisoners taken 
was an Indian warrior suffering from an acute attack 
of rheumatism, who told Col. Bailey of the marvelous 
cures and healing virtues of Espiritu Santo Springs, or 
Springs of the Great Spirit, on Old Tampa Bay; how 
the waters made the sick well and cured rheumatism and 
other aches and pains and how the Indians would go 
there in quest of health, and implored Colonel Bailey 
to parole him and allow him to go to the springs, and 
stay until his rheumatism was cured, when he would give 
him the word of an Indian warrior that he would return 
to him and again give himself up to him. This was 
probably at the battle of San Pedro, in Madison county, 
where Colonel Bailey's command killed a number of 
Indians and captured a number of prisoners. This was 
in 1842, and the scene of the battle 250 miles west and 



154 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

north of the springs, showing how the fame and wonder- 
ful reputation of the springs had spread among them, 
and that they were in the habit of seeking the springs 
with their sick and afflicted, just as we do to-day. There, 
while passing through the stages of cure and convales- 
cence, they not only had a most delightful place of 
abode, but game was abundant, fish in myriads filled the 
waters, and oysters as fine as any in the world were 
strung out in long bars in the bay near at hand. It was 
indeed a paradise to both sick and well Indians. Colonel 
Bailey told this story of the afflicted Indian to his son, 
William J. Bailey, Jr., when a boy, now verging on old 
age, living upon his fi.ne orange grove near Wauchula, 
in De Soto county, Florida. Some years afterwards in 
1855, Colonel Bailey made a tour of southern Florida, 
visited the springs, located the land, and bought it from 
the United States Government, and the ownership of the 
Espiritu Santo Springs property has remained in his 
family for more than half a century. 

Wall Springs, originally Ponce De Leon Springs 
located to the south of Tarpon Springs, contains healing 
waters. Mr. Charles F. Wall, from whom the spring 
takes it name, acquired possession of it after having 
been cured of a long standing liver and kidney com- 
plaint. He does not sell its waters, however, having 
arranged a large basin and swimming pool which are 
free to everyone who appears. 

THE SPELL OP THE MYAKKA. 

There are fish and they are jumping and flaunting 

And luring me on as they wish ; 
But it isn't the fish that I'm wanting 

So much as just catching the fish. 




Scene on Myakka River 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 155 

It's the great, broad Myakka out yonder 
With its palms where silence has lease ; 

It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder 
It's the stillness that fills me with peace. 

(With all apologies to Eobert Service for the use of the 
rhythmic swing and idea of his verses, " The Spell of the 
Yukon.") 

This Myakka is a capricious stream — sometimes wide 
and resembling the more noted rivers, again broaden- 
ing out into flats and sloughs, again narrowing into little 
trickling runs between high banks and once in a while 
one comes across what the native terms a " water hole " 
of its forming. Going to the Myakka is a pleasant and 
profitable habit that grows on one. There are ideal 
camping places at different points on this river, cleared 
places with here a gnarled water oak festooned with moss 
and the^e tall palmettoes, standing like sentinels, with a 
fringe of smaller palms all around — and the fishing is 
ideal, — fresh water fish in abundance, in fact I have seen 
two fish caught on one hook. Quite unbelievable to one 
who has not seen it. 

Hunters returning from the Myakka bring in deer, 
wild turkey, ducks, quail and doves. 

Among her other valuable Florida acquisitions, Mrs. 
Potter Palmer owns a large pasture on the Myakka flats. 
Droves of cattle are seen grazing in the pastures, while 
ever and anon a bunch of razor-back hogs scamper away 
at one's approach. 

The way to Myakka leads in a winding in and out 
direction just as one would follow the elusive trail of a 
deer. 

On one occasion when we went to the Myakka (we go 



156 FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 

often for it is only a few miles from Sarasota), we came 
within shooting distance of a wild-cat, but alas ! in the 
excitement of the moment the shot went wild and we 
lost him. We sent the big Rambler plunging through 
marshy places and around ponds, sometimes a rabbit 
would scurry away and birds fluttered from tree to tree 
in alarm ; a black snake claimed my attention once ; and 
against the dark green water-oaks were silhouetted the 
beautiful white curlew. 

Many a haggard face has grown calm and less 
wretched from a soothing sojourn on the Myakka; and 
many frivolous, unthinking souls have grown more noble 
from gazing upon the handiwork of God. 




Three Indians at Glade Cross Mission 
From left to right: Little Doctor, Frank Willie 
and Billy Fewel 
Courtesy W, Stanley Hanson 



FASCINATIXG FLORIDA. 157 



CHAPTER XIII. 

HOME OF THE SEMINOLES. 

The song of doom is resounding down the sequestered 
corridors of the great sylvan home of the Seminoles. 

Once the Everglades bore'an unmistakable welcome to 
any and all who were weary and heavy laden, a refuge 
for tracked slaves ; tliose to whom life had grown insuf- 
ferable, found in the Everglades a retreat and the 
Seminoles a protection. Now the ownership of this 
great Cathedral, and abiding place of nature, has been 
changed from Freedom to Government and the white 
man, that invincible driver of his kind, says, " Keep off 
my land there's no protection or room here for you 
unless you have the money or the energy to work." The 
Seminoles, who have been used to their own peaceful, 
unhampered way of living, feel this iron hand of the 
law an intrusion instead of the blessing intended and 
are backing, forever backing away from the encroach- 
ment of the white man upon their loved domain. 

A spark of the former bitterness, as expressed in the 
Seminoles Reply of ye oklen days, still exists in their 
hearts, and in only a few instances have they trusted 
the white man, in whom they have never before been 
able to place confidence and trust. 

The Seminoles to-day are alike to Hale's curious 
creation "The Man Without a Country." Seventy 
years ago the United States Government recognized 



158 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

the Seminoles in a treaty granting all the vast domain 
of the Okeechobee County to them. Then, one would 
say, " why all this fuss about them." Because, accord- 
ing to Mrs. Minnie Moore-Wilson, an authority on the 
Seminole question as told in an address read before the 
annual convention of the Federation of Women's Clubs 
at West Palm Beach, " The Seminole is too proud to 
beg and too honorable to steal and rather than defend 
his rights, he will move on and on, and like the white 
plumed egret of the vast boundaries of the Everglades, 
he will pass like the mist. The Seminoles are being 
driven before the mighty power of an encircling civiliza- 
tion to the hidden recesses of the Everglades. 

They are happy in their secluded homes and only ask 
to be let alone. A peaceful scene, again quoting Mrs. 
Wilson, is this — " One may see the wigwam homes, as 
they gleam in the red flames of the camp fire ; and hear 
the soft lullabies of the crooning mothers ; happy turban- 
crowned braves move amid the shadows of the live-oaks ; 
dusky squaws with careful eyes catch the toddling 
papooses as they play over the grassy sward. These 
brown skinned people see God in the cloud and hear 
Him in the winds; the laughter of the hunter is heard 
and the love songs of the Seminole Minnehaha make the 
night beautiful." 

It is to be fervently hoped that the Government will 
set aside the reservation in the Everglades for the 
Seminoles and assiduously protect them from the "land 
grabbers." It would be criminal to send them away 
from the land of their fathers, the land they love, to a 
cold unknown western land. 

" The Seminoles of Florida " is a work that has 
brought Mrs. Minnie Moore-Wilson great fame. A 
Jacksonville paper said of her : " Her work which deals 




A Hammock in the Everglades of Florida 



FASCmATI^^G FLORIDA. 159 

with the famous Florida tribe of Indians, is considered 
a standard on the fast disappearing Seminoles, and 
never has a writer shown a more intimate knowledge of 
these dwellers of the Everglades. Mr. Wilson under- 
stands thoroughly the dialect of the Seminoles and has 
prepared a vocabulary for the revised edition of Mrs. 
Wilson's book. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have found their 
way to the hearts of the Seminoles. They have been in 
touch with the down-trodden race for years and are very 
familiar with their language, customs and history." 

Mr. Wilson in speaking of the tribe says : " That 
there is yet a tribe or tribes of Indians in Fla. is a fact 
unknown to a large part of the people of this country. 
There are even students in history who have scarcely 
known it. Seventy years or more ago these Seminoles 
were driven into the dreary Everglades of the Southern 
peninsular. They have kept themselves secluded from 
the ever encroaching whites. Only occasionally do small 
parties enter a town to engage in traffic. They have no 
faith in the white man or his government." 

Not often are white people permitted to join them in 
their play or rather observations of their ancient 
customs. Mrs. Wilson describes the hunting dance in an 
interesting way. She also tells us — " The various dances 
of these people show how close they live to nature. As 
they move to the rythmical cadence of the owl song, 
we hear ' Waugh-ho-ooo-whoo-whoo ' of the great 
horned owl; then the penewa, or vnld turkey dance, 
with its notes of the gobbling bird; and so on with 
many others." 

Tourists are always anxious to obtain Sofka spoons 
as souvenirs. Sofka is a stew, the tribal dish of tlie 
Seminoles. The Sofka spoon is often carved, the dif- 
ferent households having differently shaped spoons. 



160 FASCINATIXG FLORIDA. 

One writer liappil}'- describes each band's style of Sofka 
spoon as the Seminole " Coat-of-arms." 

The Seminole woman values her beads highly, — 
they mean everything to her — " good character, use- 
fulness and social position. AYlien the little papoose 
is a 3^ear old she is given her first string, with its 
' first year bead.' This bead is always larger than 
the rest and of different color. A string of beads is 
allowed for each year until she marries. At her mar- 
raige her mother gives her many new strands, and, if 
she is a Chief's daughter, she receives many gifts of 
beads at her wedding. 

" The beads play an important part all through the 
life of a Seminole woman. A string of beads is always 
a reward for any prowress, and a mother is allowed 
two strings for each child born. In fine dress many 
of the squaws wear from twenty to thirty pounds of 
glass beads, varying in size and color, the colors blend- 
ing in perfect harmony. 

" When the squaw reaches middle life she begins tak- 
ing off her beads, one string at a time, as so many moons 
go by, until but one string is left. She is now an old 
squaw, too old to work, and the single strand she 
wears is made of the life beads and is buried with her." 

When Billy Bowlegs and his sister, Stem-o-la-kee, 
visited Kissimmee, an admiring tourist gave to Stem- 
olakee the title " A Princess of the Everglades " and 
called Billy "The Red Knight of Okeechobee." 

The Seminoles' great feast day, " all same white 
man's Kismas," occurs each year about the first of 
July. It is then the young Indians of a certain age 
are initiated into the rights of warriors. 

"The Feast of the Shot-cay-taw (Green Corn 
Dance) has many similarities to the historical records 




Left to right; Stranahan Osceola, Jimmie Osceola, Mr, Stanly Hanson, 
Billy Osceola, and Willie Willie. The Indians with the exception of 
the last named are grandsons of the great chief Osceola. 
Courtesy of W. Stanley Hanson 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 161 

of the National Festival of the Aztecs. The feast is 
for sorrowing, rejoicing and purifying. This is the 
beginning of the New Year when, following the tra- 
ditions of ancient people, old fires are allowed to go 
out, not a spark is allowed to remain. New fire is 
produced artificially. This is the Sacred Fire and 
must be made with the flint rock of their ancestors. 
The new fire is presented from one tribe to another and 
is received as a token of friendship. Then they assem- 
ble around the fire singing and dancing." 

Law breakers are tried and condemned or reinstated, 
old friendships are revived and it is a happy time for 
all the tribes. 

The Woman's National Indian Association some 
years ago began a mission for the Seminole Indians at 
" The Allen Place " some forty miles to the southeast 
of Ft. Myers and this, after a short time was trans- 
ferred to the Church, this included about 330 acres of 
land and a small dwelling for the missionaries to which 
Bishop Gray gave the name of Immokalee, which 
means in the Indian tongue " Home." Here he built 
Christ's Church, nearly forty miles beyond any other 
place of worship. Forty miles further into the inter- 
ior another mission was started which the Bishop called 
" Everglade Cross " and of which he gives the follow- 
ing account : 

" Using a fine palmetto tree, prominently located, 
for the standard, I had placed across it, for the arms 
of the cross a large cypress beam. Our little company 
gathered around this ' Everglade Cross ' and sang 
* Rock of Ages,' then, we all said the Apostles Creed, 
after which kneeling down upon the ground, I offered 
up fervent prayers for the work, for the Indians, for 
the Missionaries, for all the scattered inhabitants of 



163 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

the region, and for the work of Christ's Church 
throughout the world — and so set apart and conse- 
crated the spot, whose name recognizes the locality, 
the Everglades,' and the center, ground, and hope 
of the effort, the Cross." 

When the Bishop of Southern Florida goes to visit 
the Seminole Indians, he travels the seventy miles 
across the prairie and cypress swamps by a road that is 
deep sand in dry weather and one or two feet under 
water in wet weather. He rolls up in a blanket and 
sleeps on the ground before a camp fire, sometimes 
having to pile up palmetto leaves to keep him out of 
the water. 

The Seminoles are not without religion. It is a 
queer fanciful idea to us but real to them. They know 
God, but do not pray aloud as we do. *^ Indian think 
much" — (but no speak), he will tell you, and the poet 
Montgomery has beautifully put this ; 

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 

Uttered or unexpressed. 
The motion of a hidden fire, 

That gleams within the breast. 

They have many traditions which correspond ex- 
actly with the old Testament narratives that must 
command our attention. One is, the Indian account 
of the feeding with manna. They say : Long time ago 
much people whom He-sa-ket-ii-me-se had chosen were 
called out of slavery. They wander long time in des- 
ert. All sand. Nothing grow. People are much liun- 
gry, then He-sa-ket-u-me-se rain down plenty manna, 
(mark the word) like white man's little biscuits, good, 
but no keep, Indian eat plenty, every day it comes oju3 



TASCINATIXG FLOEIDA. 163 

(plenty). How perfectly this corresponds with our 
Bible history of the feeding of the Children of Israel 
in the desert with manna, the very same word. Then 
in the Corn Dance in the twelfth moon (July), they 
cry "Jah-Vah," pure Hebrew for Jehovah. Strange, 
isn't it? 

Their tradition of Jesus in this: Long time 
E-shock-e-tom-e-see-e-po-chee came. He landed at Cape 
Sable, three Indians met him and carried him over 
Florida. He sowed the bread of life, Compte-Koonti. 
The Indian make to-day bread of this root which they 
call palestayokee, live bread, or the bread of life. 

PEAYEE FOE SEMINOLE MISSION. 

Bishop Gray requests that the following prayer be 
frequently used by the clergy in the churches, and at 
all meetings of the Woman's Auxiliary throughout the 
Jurisdiction : 

Almighty and Most Merciful God, the Father of 
the friendless and the helper of the helpless, have pity 
we beseech Thee, upon the Indian tribes who dwell in 
this our land, especially the Seminoles in Southern 
Florida. Send to them the light and comfort of Thy 
Holy Gospel. Bless all the means used to bring them 
to the knowledge of Thy dear Son, who died for the 
salvation of all men. Guide with Thy Spirit, guard 
with Thy power, sustain with Thy love, all those who 
minister to them in spiritual things, and bear to them 
the tidings of Eedemption. Stir up the hearts of all 
who profess and call themselves Christians to prayer 
and deeds of mercy in behalf of this perishing race. 
Give to our rulers a sense of honor, truth and justice 
in all their dealings with them, and fill this whole 



164 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

nation with compassion for this poor and scattered peo- 
ple; and so fetch them home Blessed Lord, to Thy 
flock, that they might he saved among the remnant of 
true Israelites, and be made one fold under one Shep- 
herd. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 

What has been so well said of a vastly more exten- 
sive mission iield may be adopted to this one : 

"There is to-day a tide in the affairs of the Sem- 
inole Indian nation which if taken at the flood, should 
lead on to everlasting blessing to that nation as well 
as to the whole State of Florida. If neglected, who 
can tell the immeasurable loss to the Indians and to all 
our people?" 

A great question among Florida people and one 
in which the country at large is interested — is the 
drainage of the Everglades. It is a great undertak- 
ing and the opinion of investigating committees is that 
there is absolutely no occasion to doubt the practica- 
bility of the drainage operations. 

The intention of the drainage operation is to lower 
the level of Lake Okeechobee about six feet and by 
means of locks and dams control its flood waters and 
afford an outlet for draining the lands through which 
the canals pass, and also for means of transportation 
and irrigation. 

With transportation facilities, irrigation and cli- 
mate the Everglades will rank among the garden spots 
of the world. It is impossible for one not having seen 
the vast stretch of country to have a proper conception 
of its immensity, — and one can be on Lake Okeechobee 
and travel for hours out of sight of land, so vast is the 
surface of the lake. Lake Okeechobee lies immediately 
north of tlie Everglades and is the largest fresh-water 



Dredging a Canal in ihe 




FASCINATING FLORIDA. 165 

lake wholly within the United States except Lake 
Michigan. The Indian name for Everglade is Pah- 
hay-okee meaning "■ Grassy water." The Everglades 
of Florida cover an area of about 4,000 square miles. 

In 1847 Buckingham Smith, of St. Augustine, Fla., 
was appointed to make an examination and report on 
the Everglades. His letters and descriptions are in- 
teresting reading. 

The theory of the formation of the Everglades, as 
all my information in regard to the " Grassy water," 
is copied from Senate Document No. 89. 

" At one time it was taught by geologists that the 
southern part of Florida was of coral origin, but recent 
examinations lead them to believe that its formation 
is similar to that of the coast of Georgia and South 
Carolina, and belongs to the ' post-Pliocene age.' The 
present surface rests on a bed of coolitic limestone, em- 
bedded with sand and shells. The underlying rock is 
nearly horizontal, dipping slightly toward the south, 
but does not denote any sudden upheaval. Its surface 
is irregular, being full of potholes, deep fissures, var- 
ied by irregular and jagged ridges and seams. It is 
not stratific, but is homogeneous in character, and is 
rotten or porous and susceptible of being easily exca- 
vated. In places it is quite retentive of moisture, but 
hardens when exposed to the air and makes a good sur- 
face for roads. This rock formation underlying the 
entire southern part of the peninsula was at one time 
the bed of an island sea. Along the eastern edge, par- 
allel with the Atlantic coast, is a rock rim, or barrier, 
from three to five miles wide, that rises at the north 
end, opposite Lake Okeechobee, 10 or 12 feet higher 
than the bedrock in the center of the Glades, opposite 
this point. As this ridge extends south its elevation 



166 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

gradually approaches the level of the bedrock, and at 
the mouth of the Miami Eiver it has but a slight ele- 
vation above the level of the interior basin. South of 
Miami the ridge disappears, and the entire peninsula 
from the Atlantic to the Gulf coast is a rocky surface, 
dipping slightly toward the south and west. On the 
west coast there is a rock rim wider than on the east 
coast, but not so high. The backbone of the ridge is 
found at Fort Thompson, about 20 miles west of Lake 
Okeechobee, and extends in a southerly direction, al- 
most parallel with the rim on the east coast; it grad- 
ually decreases in elevation until it is finally lost by 
merging into the bedrock at a point about west from 
Miami. The area inclosed by these rock rims, lying 
south of Lake Okeechobee, is about 90 miles long and 
40 miles wide, and constitutes what is, strictly speak- 
ing, the Everglades. People who live in that locality, 
however, are accustomed to speak of any large marshy 
territory covered with grass as a part of the Ever- 
glades, whether it is within the inclosure formed by 
these rock rims or not. 

" There is no doubt that at one time this basin was 
an open sea, but by the action of the wind and waves, 
sand and particles of stone were carried in and de- 
posited, until the water was sufficiently shallow for 
plant life to exist. Aquatic plants then sprang up, and 
by constant accretions through a succession of years 
the entire basin has been filled to the level of the mar- 
ginal rims with a deposit of sand and muck, so that 
the Everglades is now a plane w^itli a gentle slope from 
the north to the south." 

This proposition is the greatest Reclamation project 
of the age, and each one identified with it feels, as 
Buckingham Smith said : — " I feel that to be connected 




Grape Fruit breaking down tree 
Courtesy J. B. Chapline, Jr., Sarasota 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 167 

with the inception of a measure which, if carried out 
properly, will probably produce such results; to be 
identified, even in a secondary position with the com- 
mencement of an undertaking that must be so emi- 
nently beneficial to my country, is a privilege of no mean 
consideration." 



168 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

LEGENDARY LORE. 

SARASOTA, THE BEAUTIFUL. 

The Legend of Sara De Soto, the lovely Daughter of Hermano. 

By permission of the author, 

G. F. Chaplinb. 

Chichi-Okobee, the fleet and strong, heir by blood 
and physical prowress to the thousand tepees and stal- 
wart warriors of Black Heron's Seminoles stood motion- 
less in the morning sun, before the camp of the great 
white chief, De Soto. Two guardsmen with burnished 
helmets and shields, and with naked blades, drew nigh 
this prince of the Seminoles. A harsh word of com- 
mand broke the stillness of the sun-bathed morning. 
With broad, brown palm uplifted — the sign of peace — 
and with steadfast gaze, Chichi-Okobee bade the guards- 
men of De Soto draw nigh. " Peace : I surrender to 
the warriors of the great white chief." These were the 
words of Okobee. Bound, he was taken to De Soto 
" Hold him hostage for our passage safe," said ?Ier- 
nando. 

Deep into the Everglades, skirting lakes and lagoons, 
parching upon glistening beaches, Chichi-Okobee was 
borne by the Spaniard. No murmur, no word of com- 
plaint escaped the captive's stoical yet princely lips. 
He had beheld Sara, the lovely daughter of the white 
chieftain; Sara, lovelier than all the princess maidens 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 169 

of fhe Seminole camp. He had surrendered himself a 
willing captive that he might suffer the thongs of cap- 
tivity, the humiliation of bonds that he might occa- 
sionally feast his own lustrous eyes upon the orbs of 
this princess of the house of De Soto. 

Chichi fell ill. The confinement, the lack of food 
of his fathers, the want of his body for the long stride 
of the chase, the absence of the medicine man, and 
most of all the unsatisfied heart-yearning, had done 
their work, and Chichi lay helpless, wasting, parching, 
dying of the fever of the Everglades. Their efforts 
vain, the physicians of the Spanish camp gave up. The 
Seminole prince must die. Sara De Soto begged per- 
mission to minister in the dying hour of Chichi-Okobee. 
Her ministrations wrought a marvel. Chichi amended. 
Love's potion, more powerful than the medicaments of 
medicine men, brought back the steady gaze to the eye, 
brought back health and strength to Chichi. 

Now was the daughter of De Soto taken ill. The 
physicians of the camp hung over her tapestried couch 
with the tender solicitude of fathers, yet all in vain ; 
the malady that had stricken her seemed all the 
stronger for their care. Chichi begged De Soto that he 
might go to his father's camp and fetch the great medi- 
cine man, Ahti — the medicine man who knew the se- 
crets of the bad spirits of the Everglades. Though a 
man might be dead, yet it had been known that Ahti's 
skill had brought back the throb to the heart. 

Chichi-Okobee had tried the small deer of the for- 
est, and his long, lithe limbs had won him many a tro- 
phy in the sports of his tribe, yet never sped he so fast, 
never had the tropic trees beheld such speed as this 
bronze young prince plunged by them. One moon and 
yet another and Chichi-Okibee, with Ahti, the medi- 



170 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

cine man stood before the tent of Sara De Soto. Strange 
incantations were uttered, mysterious herbs were offered 
in more mysterious smoke, that the spirit of the swamp 
might be appeased. Long vigils did Ahti keep by the 
side of the dying girl. Chichi stood mute without the 
camp, with his eyes tixed upon the idly flapping door- 
way of the sick girl's tent, A black heron screamed 
and plunged over Chichi's head into the gloom of the 
forest. The great medicine man came forth from the 
tent, rending his deerskin cape. Chichi read the mes- 
sage — Sara was dead. The Great Spirit had called 
her. Ahti's powers had been matched with a greater 
than his. 

Chichi sought the presence of De Soto and there 
poured forth to the Spaniard the love he bore the dead 
girl. He begged that he might select the place of her 
burial and take part in the ceremony. De Soto, struck 
with the earnestness of the young Seminole, and melt- 
ing under the caressing melody of his rich voice and 
savage eloquence, gave consent. Okobee told of a land- 
locked, peaceful bay, the loveliest spot along the Gulf- 
kissed shores of Florida, as the spot where he wished to 
bury the matchless Sara. He begged for, and received, 
permission to go to his camp and secure a body of his 
fellow warriors to make up a guard of honor to attend 
upon the last rites of his dead sweetheart. 

On the morning following his departure there 
appeared, drawing nigh De Soto's camp, winding in 
silent, single file, a body of one hundred Seminole braves 
at whose head came Chichi-Okobee. All were bedecked 
in full war paint, all bore the solemn mein of their 
chieftain ; every quiver bristled with its complement of 
stone-tipped arrows, every bow was strung. Chichi- 
Okobee's war bonnet swept the earth as he strode, his 




Crystal Spring 
Pascolo, Fla. 
Courtesy Florida Grower, Tampa 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 171 

jasper-tipped spear flashed in the sunbeams, and, like 
his followers, his quiver was filled with the arrows of 
warfare. 

Three large canoes, bedecked with dark mosses of 
the forest swept up the beach, propelled by the swift, 
strong strokes of six solemn Indians, In the first and 
largest of these the body of Sara De Soto was tenderly 
laid. De Soto and one guardeman were the sole pas- 
sengers aboard this death craft save and except Chichi- 
Okobee and six stalwart Seminoles who propelled the 
canoe. Silently the hundred braves took their places 
in the two remaining canoes. Silently the leading canoe 
swept out and up the bay, followed by the other two. 
At midday Chichi-Okobee bade the funeral fleet come 
to a stand. In the middle ground of the most peaceful, 
the most beautiful body of water that the Spaniard had 
ever beheld : Okobee would bury his love. With the 
white bay flowers in her blue-black hair, and the feather 
from the wing of the black heron in her hand, the re- 
mains of Sara De Soto were lowered into the deep. Chi- 
chi-Okobee was rowed to the leading canoe of his fol- 
lowers, where he mounted the prow, leaving Hernando, 
his guardsman and oarsman in the funeral barque. 
Behold ! a wonderful thing transpired. At a signal 
from the young chief every warrior sprang to his feet, 
tomahawk in hand. In strange, weird unison the war 
chant of these hundred bronze warriors lifted itself and 
swelled across the bosom of the bay. As its mystery- 
laden echo died away in the deep of the forest along the 
shore line, the blades of one hundred tomahawks 
crashed into the frail bodies of the two war canoes. 
A moment of ripples, a moment of bubbles and all was 
still. De Soto and his companions, in silent astonish- 
ment, gazed upon the grave of Chichi-Okobee and his 



173 FASCINATING FLOKIDA. 

hundred companions-at-arms — they had gone to guard 
tlie resting place of their young chieftain's love. 

The bay — " Sarasota Bay," as it has since been known 
— like a mirror of steel reflects the doings of the stars, 
and whispers to the caressing winds the story of the 
love of Chichi-Okobee and the beautiful Spaniard. The 
elders of the Seminoles repeat the legend to the chil- 
dren, and say that the spirits of Chichi-Okobee and his 
warriors are in eternal combat with the spirits of evil 
and the children of the storm god, holding the pass to 
the Gulf and protecting the resting place of Sara 
De Soto. 

It is said that the sullen roar of the Gulf, as it 
breaks upon the outer beaches, is but the noise of con- 
flict, and that the great whitecaps which chase each 
other and break and tumble across the pass are but the 
wraiths of the warriors of Okobee and the children of 
the sea, tossing their spirit arms, and meeting in never- 
ending contest for the possession of the bay. This is 
the legend of the lovely Sara and Chichi, the fleet and 
strong — the legend of Sarasota Bay. It is peaceful, it 
is beautiful. 

:ic 4c 4: 4: ^ :)( >)< 

Legend has it that the Cherokee rose was brought to 
the land of the Seminoles by an Indian bride who, on 
leaving her home land, plucked a rose and hid it in 
her bosom. She planted it by the wigwam of her Sem- 
inole warrior and from that it has grown and spread 
until it can be found all over the State. 

* * * * * * * 

The Seminoles believe that when they die they come 
to a big river with a pole to cross it. The pole is slick 
and hard to cross. The bad Indian falls off and alii- 




Crystal Spring 
Courtesy Florida Grower, Tampa. 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 173 

gators catch him and the good Indian gets across the 
pole to Happy Hunting Ground. 

:(: 4: H: * * * * 

A very liappy solution of punishment to debtors was 
given by Johnny Osceola. '' No pay one year, all right ; 
no pay two year, get other Injuns with big sticks in 
line, make him run between, hit him one time for every 
dollar." 

Mysterious adventure of an Everglade Trip by Mrs. 
J. P. Martin is one of the most fascinating descriptions 
it has ever been my pleasure to read. It is a story of 
a trip taken by three boys. Leaving from Tampa, the 
article describes how they captured the turtle in Caseys 
Pass, below Sarasota, by jumping astride the monster in 
the water, maneuvering him as though he were a sub- 
marine boat, and guiding him docilely ashore; they 
caught tarpon and saw-fish in the Ten Thousand Isles. 

The article describes the gorgeously plumed sea birds ; 
the fine specimens of shells highly polished and deli- 
cately tinted found at Sanibel and Cape Romano. . 

" At Marceo, Caxambas and Chokoloskee we found 
fruit in abundance. Tall Cocoanut trees waving their 
long graceful palms in the glorious Southern breeze, 
laden with huge clusters of nuts in all stages of matur- 
ity. Then there was the russet and crimson and golden 
mangoes upon the glossy green foliaged trees, the great 
polished-looking avocados, the sugar apples, whose scent 
rivals the frankincense and myrrah of the Orient. Huge 
papayas hanging like great pumpkins upon the tropical 
trees, bananas, in golden thongs, guavas upon every 
turn, and acres of delicious pineapples. 

" The Royal Ponciannas as large as monster oak trees 
were in bloom, one solid mass of crimson, that could be 



174 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

discerned among the green foliage of surrounding trees, 
for a distance of several miles upon the water, remind- 
ing one of an immense blaze of fire. At Chokolochee 
the yellow alder grows in perfect hedges or swamps, 
their masses of golden blossoms looking a good deal 
like the so much admired Southern yellow jassamine." 

After being out three weeks and nothing had hap- 
pened in all that time to mar the perfect felicity of 
the trip, one day in trying to capture a manatee, the 
boat was overturned. Nearly all the provisions and 
ammunition, the compass and batteries from the boat 
were lost. A storm came up and one of the party grew 
alarmingly ill. The two boys, burdened with their now 
raving companion, wet food and almost useless boat, 
and without a compass tried to find their way to the 
store they passed two days previous. 

For two days they worked laboriously through the 
marshy interior of the Everglades. The moaning of 
their companion, tlie melancholy din of the owls, the 
blood-curdling wails of the panthers and the sound of 
bear pulling the buds out of the cabbage palmetto trees, 
had well-nigh unnerved them and they were about 
to give up in despair when they heard the familiar bark 
of a dog. This gave them new hope and they set out 
for the direction of the bark. The rest of the adventure 
is better told in Mrs. Martin's words : 

" Ernest and I each dropped our oars in stupefied 
amusement, for even as we looked the scene before us 
was transformed into a veritable garden of paradise. 
As we glanced in wonder and amazement hundreds of 
electric lights burst forth in all colors of the rainbow, 
blazing upon myriads of gorgeous colored plants and 
flowers and numerous fountains spouting from marl)le 
statues of various designs, played and gleamed in the 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 175 

colored lights. The residence setting well back among 
the foliage and flowers was not the palace one might 
expect to accompany the fairy-like garden, and though 
small, it seemed to be substantially constructed of the 
beautiful mahogany logs. It would have been too dark 
to discern anything now, for it was still cloudy, but the 
artificial light made the scene more brilliant than the 
noon-day sun. 

" We reached the landing and the dog rushed down 
to the river bank, barking furiously now, whereupon 
the form of a man appeared in the doorway, and blinded 
by the light, peered curiously in our direction. For a 
few seconds he seemed confused and irresolute as to 
what course to pursue, but finally he came rapidly down 
to the landing. 

" ' We happened to find you here very unexpectedly, I 
assure you,' began Ernest, fluently, ' but we are 
lost, and in dire distress; one of our party is very ill 
and we have no succor for him.' 

" ' Ah ! he does seem quite ill, poor lad,' said the 
gentleman, kindly, a little brokenly. Evidently he was 
a Spaniard, and bore the marks of a gentleman — a 
cavalier. 

" ' Bring him into the house at once, and we will see 
what can be done to resuscitate him.' 

" We lost no time in following directions, and our 
cavalier, wliose age we could not determine whether it 
was thirty or sixty, with remarkably light and agile steps 
led the way through the vine-clad veranda into the en- 
trance hall and then opened a door leading into a sleep- 
ing apartment as luxurious as those of the Orientals in 
its rich portiers and tapestry, rugs, cushions and divans. 
The interior of the house was also brilliantly lighted 
with electricity. 



176 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

" * Now first thing, he must be gotten dry and com- 
fortable. I know with the rains we've had your outfit 
is wet/ and he got a suit of warm pajamas for us to put 
on Frank. ' While you change his clothing I will pre- 
pare him a concoction/ and he tripped lightly out, re- 
turning almost immediately with a small cut-glass gob- 
let containing a fluid as clear and sparkling as cham- 
pagne, which he presented to Frank's parched and 
fevered lips The poor boy grasped it ravenously, and 
quaffed it to the last drop, then he opened his eyes and 
looked about with the light of reason for the first time in 
days, but expressed bewilderment at the unexpected 
surroundings. 

" ' Where am I ? ' he asked, springing up. He had 
been too weak to raise his head, and Ernest and myself 
exchanged glances of astonishment to see him arise as 
though nothing had been the matter. * Do you feel 
better, Frank ? ' I asked. 

" ' Better ? I never felt better in my life. WTiy I'm 
not sick, am I ? But what has happened ? I feel good, 
good. I never did feel so good. I feel as light as air, 
and my blood fairly tingles with the pleasure of health, 
and joy and strength. What was that I drank ? That's 
the cause of it. What was it ? ' and he turned to senor 
for explanation. 

" ' Ernest and I were too amazed to comment, for as we 
watched, as if by magic the glow of health crept into 
his pallid cheeks and his sunken eyes sparkled with more 
than their usual luster. 

" ' You would think I prevaricated, young man, if I 
should tell you that what you drank was the Elixir of 
Life from the fabled fountain of Immortal Youth/ 
replied Senor, smiling. 

'* ' No, no, I would not doubt you, really I do not. Not 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 177 

when it makes a fellow feel like that — nothing is too 
good to believe of it.' Frank grasped him by the hand 
and looked curiously into his eyes. ' So you found it, 
and how long has it preserved you ? Oh, my, my ! I've 
always known it really did exist ; the very one for which 
Ponce de Leon searched,' cried Frank excitedly. 

" Senor smiled at his enthusiasm, but vouchsafed no 
further information. 

" ' Well, I believe a draught would help each of us. 
You don't object to being livened up a bit yourself, eh, 
boys? Then after that refreshes you we will try to get 
some of the substantials for the inner man,' He poured 
from a cut-glass pitcher the sparkling beverage and we 
all drank with the same effect Frank had experienced. 
Never had we felt so thrilled, so exhilarated, so intensely 
delicious in our whole existence. The sensation im- 
minently defies description. 

'' ' Will just a drink of it prolong life ? ' queried Er- 
nest, the thoughtful. 

" ' It is hard to say as to that, but I am convinced 
that where one continues to drink it life will go on in- 
definitely,' he replied, leading the way to the kitchen. 
' My servant, my man Friday, is away,' he explained. 
' I am momentarily expecting him. W[\en your boat 
came I thought it was he. Do you know you are the first 
human being that have ever found my hermitage? And 
it puzzled me immensely at first how you did so, but I 
have deducted that it was only because of the unprece- 
dented amount of rain. You would never in the world 
have found my entrance, the only one, except in the ex- 
treme high water as now. 

" ' However, boys, though it has been so many years 
since I've seen or spoken to a human soul except Pedro. 
(I never leave here) I trust I have not forgotten how 



178 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

to be hospitable. Pray feel and act just as though you 
were at home.' 

'' Frank now completely restored to his usual health 
proceeded to assist in the preparation of supper, and a 
veritable banquet it was. His pantry was abundantly 
supplied. His garden contained every known vegetable, 
his orchard every variety of fruit that would grow in 
this soil, and the flower garden every shrub and plant 
indigenous to this climate. Discussing them, Senor 
said, ' That's my life, my recreation. First my books,' 
indicating an entire wall of shelves filled with volumes, 
mechanical, historical, fiction, ' then my stock and 
poultry, my flowers, friuts and vegetables. I'll show 
you my Jersey cows, my hogs and chickens in the morn- 
ing.' 

" When the bountiful table was set, with its snow-white 
napery, its ample supply of china, cut-glass and silver- 
ware, we were as astonished as if we had suddenly been 
transported to some unknown region and ushered into 
elysium. Pedro must have excelled in the culinary de- 
partment for the store of home-canned goods, fruits, 
preserves, jellies was superb, but the greatest surprise 
was when the tea and milk were served they were iced ! 

" ' Now, I'm non-plussed,' exclaimed Ernest. ' I've 
been suprised the entire evening and continually expect- 
ing to find myself awakening from a dream, but pray 
explain. Senior, how is it you have ice here.' 

" ' Well,' explained the Senor quietly. ' It is just a 
hobby for me to want all the luxuries and pleasures I 
can afford. I love to tinker with machinery, as does Pe- 
dro, and by keeping abreast of the times by studying my 
magazines, I ordered a small ice plant as well as electric 
plant of the most modern design, and erected them just 
to humor a whim.' 



FASCHSTATING ELOEIDA. 179 

" ' And, knowing too, that you will live on and on, it's 
not like we poor mortals who know that we've got to die 
just as we get ready to live,' observed Ernest. 

" ' And I suppose, too, you've had several centuries to 
do all this fixing up in,' put in Frank. 

" ' I've been walking in your orchard and vineyard, 
and I'll be dogged if those trees and grapevines don't 
look like they are at least two hundred years old.' Senor 
only smiled, and helped Frank's plate to a liberal supply 
of fried chicken. After an excellent night's rest, we 
arose to find a continual round of surprises and new 
beauties and wonderful things. 

" About noon a large closed cabin motor boat steamed 
up to the dock, manned by a real Indian, as we thought, 
in full Indian array. 

" We were apprehensive for a moment until we saw 
that Senor maintained a placid exterior. 

" ' Ah, there is Pedro returned from Miami,' and we 
sauntered down to the boat. 

" He is Indian, then," I asserted, exhibiting my sur- 
prise. Senor laughed. " ' It is a pretty good disguise he 
gets lip, is it not? You see he is compelled to go to 
Miami twice each year for our supplies, and it creates 
less suspicion to go as an Indian than a Spaniard. He 
gets the supplies as though representing a whole tribe 
of Indians. Then a great deal of freight I get from New 
York is in boxes and nobody knows the contents, conse- 
quently there is no sensation about it.' 

" Pedro did not seem to relish our intrusion, and was 
stolid and sulky until Senor had a whispered consulta- 
tion with him and I suppose relieved his mind as to our 
aggressiveness in ferreting out the secret entrance after 
which he became friendly and hospitable, seeming to 
enjoy our companionship. The boat seemed to contain 



180 FASCIXATIXG FLORIDA. 

everything immaginable, and magazines, political, scien- 
tific, mechanical, enough to last a year. 

" In the evening as Ernest and I walked in the garden, 
he burst forth, ' Harold, I have never in my life had my 
curiosity so thoroughly pricked as now. There is some- 
thing remarkably strange connected with Senor. He 
must be vastly rich in the first place to live like the king 
he does and make absolutely nothing. But the most 
singular part is, how long has he been here, and what 
of his life ? Even Frank's quizzing cannot pry into his 
life. He talks enough but not of the main point I want 
to know. Do you think it would be wrong for me to 
wrench the secret from him ? Don't you believe we are 
due that much to our fellow man ? I mean so as to make 
the revelation to the world when we get back to it ? ' 

" Of course, I'd find out if I could, but I can't see 
how you will wrench any secret from him. He's too 
cautious. He tells nothing." 

" All right, watch my strategy." 

" That was all that Ernest said, but after tea I 
observed him in earnest conversation with Pedro, who by 
the way after having exchanged his Indian garb for that 
of a well regulated Spanish esquire, he did not in any 
wise resemble a warrior. 

" ' I wonder if he's several centuries old too,' queried 
Frank. ' He does not look more than thirty, I'd sure 
like to know how old they are.' 

" Presently Ernest joined us in the dining-room, leav- 
ing Pedro out on the veranda and glancing out the win- 
dow I perceived that he was in a profound slumber, 
occupying a reclining posture in a huge arm chair. 

" ' Pedro seems to be fatigued from his journey, and 
no doubt he has lost rest too,' observed Ernest, care- 
lessly. ' No doubt, no dou})t,' reiterated Senor, puffing 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 181 

away at his excellent meerschaum pipe. Ernest seated 
himself directly in front of Senor and proceeded to en- 
gage him in conversation. I was occupied with a new 
magazine and did not observe how the coloquy was pro- 
gressing until Frank, to direct my attention, pulled at 
my sleeve. 

" Ernest was bending over Senior making very sing- 
ular motions and passes over him with his hands. Senor 
was actually asleep, audibly snoring, and Frank sat per- 
fectly spell-bound, speechless with emotion. 

" Presently Ernest began in a soft crooning voice, 
' You are unconscious of all surroundings, you hear 
nothing but my voice, you will now proceed to tell me 
the history of your life down to the minutest detail. 
After you have finished you will retire and sleep soundly 
until morning not recalling anything that has occurred.' 

" I had never witnessed any such proceeding, but it 
flashed into my memory that I had heard that Ernest 
was an hypnotist of rare ability, a veritable prodigy in 
the phenomenal. I was then concious of the fact that 
Pedro was in an hypnotic trance also. As Ernest's voice 
ceased Senor began, and for two solid hours talked vol- 
ubly. I regret that I cannot repeat verbatum what he 
said, but space forbids, even were I endowed with the 
power; the substance was this. He was first cousin of 
Ponce de Leon, his name being Sebastian de Leon. He 
was with de Leon in all of his daring exploits, was as 
enthused over the Fountain of Immortal Youth as Ponce 
de Leon himself, heard wonderful tales of it from the 
natives and resolved even after de Leon's death to find it. 

" Upon one occasion the ship upon which he sailed 
carried a vast treasure plundered from the seacoast 
towns of South America. It was really a pirate's ship, 
but with Sebastian de Leon as the leader, a bang of 



183 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

sailors, eight or ten in number, mutinied, took tlie ship 
with the treasure, after making way with the captain 
and crew, and made for the coast of Florida. They had 
just succeeded in secreting the treasure on shore, and 
were having a hilarious time aboard the ship, dancing, 
drinking and carousing when they were surprised by a 
band of Indian savages and everyone murdered except 
Senor and Pedro, who by some miracle made their escape 
with one of the ship's yawls, the night being very dark. 

" After pilfering the ship the savages set fire to it and 
left it. The next day when peace and quiet reigned he 
and Pedro guardedly slipped back and unearthed the 
treasure which consisted largely of jewels besides much 
gold, and made their way to the interior, happening by 
chance to find a secret cave or passage that led to the 
river surrounding this high beautiful island. 

" There they found quantities of wild fruit and game 
abounded, and best of all the clear, limpid, placid waters 
of the long sought fountain. 

" That was more than three hundred years ago, but 
here they had remained, and with his unbounded wealth 
and active brain Senor had kept up with the flight of 
time. 

" It seems wonderful but he had studied and read and 
was right up to date upon every known subject, every 
current event, though living so remote from the busy 
world. ' Would you mind showing us your treasure ? * 
interrupted Ernest, at length. ' Not in the least. It 
would give me pleasure,' asserted Senor de Leon, rising 
gallantly and alighting a candle that happened to be at 
hand. ^ Follow me,' he commanded, and we were by 
no means reluctant. In his bed room he removed a rug, 
and then merely touched a tiny spring and a door rolled 
noislessly back revealing a staircase that led downward. 




( )n the Harney River 
Courtesy Florida Grower Tampa 



FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 183 

" We followed Senor and were ushered into an under- 
ground chamber about twelve feet square. It contained 
nothing save an ingeniously contrived iron safe. After 
manipulating the combination the door opened and there 
was displayed a brilliant array of jewels, jewels ! Dia- 
monds, rubies, amethysts, emeralds, sapphires; oh, so 
many beautiful dazzling gems — and gold! Tier after 
tier of old gold coins piled and heaped one upon the 
other. 

" If we had indulged the idea of Senor presenting us 
each a gem as a momento of the occasion, the apprehen- 
sion was soon dissipated, for after allowing us to feast 
our eyes upon the display for a few brief moments he 
carefully re-adjusted the combination, and preceded us 
up the stairs. 

" ' Now you will retire to your bed and never remem- 
ber what has occurred/ said Ernest. He then proceeded 
to the veranda where Pedro still snored. ' You will now 
go to your bed and sleep until morning,' he suggested to 
Pedro, who arose and went immediately to his bed in a 
dazed sort of way. 

" ' We were to leave on our homeward journey the fol- 
lowing morning, Senor having proposed to equip us for 
the trip, so after an early breakfast it was our intention 
to start. Accordingly we arose early and after partaking 
of a bountiful repast, Pedro handed to each a cup of most 
delicious coffee which was the last thing we remembered. 
I felt a drowsy, numbed feeling overcome me, and when 
I regained coneiousness the sun was sinking in the west. 
We were away out in the glades, we three boys ! 

" ' I soon got the boys aroused and we found that our 
boat contained an abundant supply of everything neces- 
sary to make the trip — new batteries, ample supply of 



184 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

gasoline, a compass with minutely written instructions 
as to what direction to steer. 

" ' We were evidently many miles from Senor's, as no 
high timber was anywhere in view. 

" ' Pedro had no doubt towed us for a great distance, 
after seeing us out of the secret passage. 

" ' I believe it's all a dream anyway,' said Frank. 
' But the supply of food and gasoline that's most too 
realistic for a dream,' replied Ernest, the logic of which 
we were compelled to acknowledge." 

4c H: ^ 4c 4> !|e !|i 

A part of The Maid of Gasparilla Isle, by H. C. Gold- 
stein is herewith given. Treasure hunters have been 
busilly engaged, lately, in digging for the buried 
treasures. 

In this story two men are out on a camping expe- 
dition, one taking his violin along. 

" Possibly nowhere in Florida will one find the trop- 
ical growth that spreads its beauty as it does along the 
Peace river, and for genuine romance the stately palm, 
the most covered cypress, lend enchantment. Among its 
many treasure islands deep in the quicksand there is 
one that holds the treasures of the pirate Gasparilla. 

"The Seminole Indians know the legend, for the 
story never grows old; and had Ponce de Leon seen the 
maid of Gasparilla no doubt she could have lead him 
to the fountain of eternal youth. Her chiffon-like ap- 
pearance has been seen, and the early settlers' description 
is identical with the picture I have in mind. 

" The wealth of hair that seemed to float on the sum- 
mer night's breeze, a healthful delicacy that might have 
given tone to a Eembrandt, though the tender appeal 
from the dreamy eyes seemed to conflict with the warn- 
ing gesture, and it was not surprise, but rather a feeling 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 185 

of admiration that Melville experienced at this their 
first meeting, for from the waving trees to the.wee small 
foot there was quality, tone and color, --'"^ 

" The Everglades at a distance, the coral reef in the 
background, covered with pelicans, the lanky crane in 
the shallows, gave east to the somber settings. The relief 
is the isle itself, for its foliage drops to the water's edge, 
where trout and tarpon lure the sportsman's line." 

Melville one evening played in a weird minor strain, 
pouring his very soul into the melody. " From the river 
bank a haze as delicate as the phosphorescent water in 
the background came forward, and gradually took the 
form of a human being. Then the minor changed and 
Melville was playing ' Angel's Serenade,' while the 
scene of the evening before was being re-enacted, though 
never to be finished, she now stood with outstretched 
hands and the voice that had been hushed for a century 
broke silence: 

" ' It is my turn, and now Melville listen to me.* 
So softly he continued to play that clearly every word 
she spoke, though barely above a whisper, sounded, and 
the gentle breeze took up the melody and left an echo in 
the hollow cypress. There was nothing dramatic to this 
simple narrative, but painted in true colors as follows : 

"^A few years after the war of 1812, on a clear 

summer morn, the schooner Q sailed through the 

pass at Boca Grande and drifted lazily to the south. In 
an hour the wind had died to a calm and the men left 
the deck only to swelter in close bunks. That there 
was dissatisfaction was evident. Some cursed in 
Spanish; others talked mutiny, and the final verdict 
was the ' She ' could not remain. But all knew the 
strength of their leader, his lust for human blood and 
they did not dare make any demonstration. 



186 FASCINATING FLOEIDA. 

" ' Gasparilla stood iu the low-ceiled cabin leaning 
against the butt of the mainmast. His black mustache 
drooping at the corners of his mouth, a red bandana 
handkerchief tied loosely around his neck, were features 
of his appearance that were in keeping with his six 
feet of bone and muscle. In the far corner of the 
cabin stood ' She ; ' my head slightly thrown back, my 
lips curled in defiance, and though the contrast was as 
great as the gulf that separated our two souls, he ven- 
tured : 

" ' Will you not reconcile yourself, or do you force 
me to take advantage of my position? The vessel we 
took you from has been scuttled, and the low water 
mark will uncover the topmast. Eather a fitting tomb- 
stone.' This bit of eloquence surprised me, for when 
I raised my eyes to meet his snake-like gaze the horror 
I experienced was even greater than that of the day 
before, when my hands had been tied and I saw those 
before me walk the plank. As great as this horror had 
been I now envied those. I even wondered why, when 
my turn came this monster that towered before we had 
ordered the plank down. I had been dragged, half- 
carried to the dungeon-like cabin I now faced him in. 

" ' I will marry you and take you to Spanish shores,' 
he finally said, ' where the wealth I now offer you 
affords the enviable station that my pretty Senorita 
deserves.' The cold silence that followed seemed to 
encourage him, for he depicted in glowing terms the 
chatau, the drives among the olive and orange groves, 
the golden sunsets among the hills and Monte Carlo. 
"With this his voice fell to a whisper and with out- 
stretched hands he started in my direction, but quickly 
I evaded him, and a few seconds later I was standing 
on the stairway that led to the upper deck, though I 




Lake Thonotosassa 
Courtesy Florida Grower 



FASCINATING FLORIDA. 187 

well knew that escape was impossible. Another thought 
filled my brain: Would such a sacrifice mean that a 
score of innocent people that each day fell into this 
man's path might-be saved? On the other hand I well 
realized that no alternative presented itself. Gasparilla 
did not follow me. But from his hip pocket produced 
a bunch of keys. On the port side of the cabin, un- 
decided, he stood in front of three chests. Uncon- 
sciously I watched him and backed up another step until 
the top of my head touched the ceiling. 

" Gasparilla was on his knees in front of the smallest 
chest. As he raised the lid, a haze, the colors of the 
rainbow, seemed to play above this horde of stolen 
treasures. From the depths of the chest he drew forth 
a chamois, and proceeded to unfold the corners, then 
with his left hand he raised a diamond necklace. The 
full afternoon light that poured its rays through the 
open portholes paled a ghastly gray as it fell, on this 
mass of sparkling jewels. 

" The solemn proceedings which had been taking 
place for the past half hour were being focused to a 
climax. On the upper deck men were hurrying for- 
ward, then aft. For the third time three bells had 
sounded and every man was at his post, but their 
leader had not answered the summons. Gasparilla 
started to place the jewels about my neck, but again I 
cleverly evaded him, only to slip and fall to my knees 
a moment later. Like a snarling wolf he stood over 
me. And then for the first time he heard the voice 
of ' She.' Maybe they were silvery tones that held him 
spellbound as they echoed in every corner of the cabin. 
For now my hands were clasped over my head and as 
my stricken features met his gaze, I simply whispered 



188 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 

' Don't, dou't touch me ! ' and Gasparilla's heart had 
been touched. 

" By this time Melville had stopped playing. Leaning 
forward aghast, as though he knew the story was his 
death knell, he pressed the ' Strad.' close to his heart 
as * She ' continued : 

" The little schooner that played the part of a ship- 
wrecked smack was a decoy, and instead of surprising 
the defenseless as had been his custom, Gasparilla 
found a formidable foe. In fact, the general belief 
to this day is that the hand of the law was the instru- 
ment of this pirate's downfall. Though there is no 
historical reference to the fact, there is little doubt 
but that this theory is correct. 

" Both ships were now lashed close together and in 
whirlwind style the crew of the decoy came scrambling 
over the gunwale of the pirate. From every door, window 
and hatch men came running and the decoy that had 
been planned for months was now a success. After the 
tirst volley Gasparilla staggered to the upper deck. 
For an instant all was quiet, even as the calm proceeds 
the storm. In the western sky a blood red sun was 
sinking 'neath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Close 
to the water's surface came tiying a flock of pelicans 
then to the south, lost in darkness, and last to find in 
the mangrove their sheltered roost. 

" Whether or not his own fate was the last to be 
considered, nothing but the cynical smile seemed to 
acknowledge defeat at this Waterloo, that without a 
moment's notice had been hurled into the midst of his 
career of crime and piracy. In an instant he drew a 
dagger from his belt. Then a shot fired and close to 
his side came reeling the form of ' She.' And now, 
Melville, I tell you this story a hundred years later. 




The author getting' "local color" 
in Lee County 



FASCINATI^^G FLORIDA. 189 

not as one that acted the part, and now looks back as 
at a vision that applauds, but as facts that should go to 
make history of a tragedy that had a parallel when 
' Bill Sykes washed his hands in the blood of Nancy.' 
Both hands clasped tightly to my side I lurched for- 
ward, staggered, and as the bullet pierced my heart I 
fell backwards across the boom. As you see me now I 
watched my own form, my head dangling down and 
my fallen hair barely touching the deck. Gasparilla 
sprang to my side, but again his own barely touching 
the deck. Gasparilla sank to the deck, reaching out 
his long sunburnt arms until his finger tips touched 
the drooping tresses. He struggled to crawl to ' She,' 
but over him leaned the coward. Then pressing the 
dagger to his left side he leaned forward and fell face 
down. 

" As she finished she started forward, screamed, an- 
other scream, ' Melville ! ' But 'twas too late, there was 
a crash. Then in all her beauty ' She ' smiled through 
bitter tears. Close to her side stood another form, and 
with lips pressed together slowly in the moonlight 
turned their back to the lonely tent, and on the summer 
night's breeze were lost among the palm and cypress. 

" At the tent all was quiet. Melville was lying on 
the ground, face down. IJnder his body, crushed into 
a thousand pieces, was the broken ' Strad.' A rattler 
hissed and again all was quiet." 



190 FASCINATING FLORIDA. 



CONCLUSION". 

"Florida, the Fascinating" is finished and I feel 
as if a dearly loved guest, whom I have enjoyed for 
months, is going away. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 
reading and searching for material to use in this book. 
I do not claim any honor but for the part of working in 
the valuable facts which have been sent me by interested 
people throughout the State in response to my circular 
letters, asking for authentic information. 

Some important places, no doubt, have not been 
described. It has been quite difficult to choose the 
places to describe, for each place in Florida is a choice 
spot and almost every one is entitled to first mention. 

I feel that I have toured the State of Florida the 
guest of the Department of Agriculture the Boards of 
Trade, Commercial Associations and persons privately 
interested in the wonderful State. To one and all, each 
person who has so generously assisted me in collecting 
material and illustrations, — I thank 3^ou for your kind- 
ness, and send Florida the Fascinating out as a tribute 
to interested people and an appreciation of the State of 
my Adoption. 

Neal Wyatt Chapline. 



A.. 



